The Omega Omnisphere's Greatest Pokemon Master- The Anti-God Pokemon
by PokeLoverTJC
Summary: In an alternate Pokémon universe, champion level trainer Ash Ketchum One Million faces the one true Omnimalevolent Pokémon in the apocalyptic war for all of totality. Features omnipotent Ash, with omnipotent Pokémon. An Amourshipping/Semi Harem fic with an OC legendary Pokémon.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note (Important: Please Read): Hey again peeps, it's PokeloverTJC with another fanfiction. I just wanted to say that I am very flattered and proud of the positive reviews my first fanfiction has received thus far, and I plan on finishing the Ascension to Pokemon Mastership, Ash Ketchum's Most Epic Voyage eventually, but first I've got a real treat for you guys. Upon accepting a challenge from one of my reviewers, I've decided to begin another story of even more epic proportions than my first, featuring an Ash of even more Godlike skills, so if anyone of you aren't into the insanely powerful sort of characters, I would advise you all to stop reading this now. Ash is not OP in this fic, as OP suggests that he is absurdly powerful for no legitimate reason._

_the Ash in this fic is basically an omnipotent trainer yes, but there is a legitimate reason for it. This version of Ash will be the chosen one of Arceus itself, the original one and all-powerful God and creator of the Pokemon universe, and unlike the version of Ash in my other story, will not be anywhere near as secretive or inexperienced at utilizing his or his Pokemon's powers. Legendary Pokemon will be just as absurdly powerful in this fic as in APM, possessing many limitless capabilities and legendary powers on an infinite level._

_ Arceus will be omnipotent, and Mew will be omnipotent and capable of controlling all powers in the Pokemon universe on an infinite or near-infinite level. Both of these Pokemon will be a part of Ash's vast collection. He has collected all the Pokemon, legendary or otherwise outside of Kalos minus Ho-Oh, who he was saving for last and who watched over him all throughout his childhood._

_Take heed my readers, this version of Ash will be the first and only trainer with both a mastery of aura on an infinite level like in my other fanfic, and a mastery of all psychic and telekinetic powers, also on an infinite level. So he will be the ultimate psychic and master of aura, and will have Infinite intelligence because of it. Now, before any of you start saying that this Ash is unusually precocious and what not, just please don't because I just said in this very important AN that Ash possesses literally limitless raw intelligence on top of his other powers, and will probably come off as egotistical and extremely profound in both maturity and intellect._

_ Ash will be 17 in this fic, slightly older than in the other one, and will display a maturity and level of intelligence that vastly outclasses normal individuals his age, so yes, he will not always be speaking quite like a normal seventeen year old should. Also, on another note, he has both Mewtwo, both the one from the first movie and the one from the 16th movie with Genesect, both capable of mega evolving into both of their supremely powerful mega forms. Other than these differences, this new fanfiction will uphold all the same mechanics as APM; same limitless potential for all Pokemon through rigorous training, same mechanics for mega evolutions and any forms like the ones Kyurem uses and the new form of Kyogre from Alpha Sapphire. All of these Pokemon Ash has captured at this point, along with Groudon, Rayquaza, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and every other legendary Pokemon aside from Ho-Oh._

_Also, Ash will already be a champion level battler in this fanfictiom, having defeated Lance in the Indigo Plateau and having conquered all the other leagues aside from the Elite Four and Champions, earning the right to challenge them at any point just like in APM. In this story however, Ash is already allowed to carry up to 25 Pokemon with him and has a solid team built right from the start._

_The main reason he continues on his journey is to prove to everyone and everything that no trainer on earth is superior to him. This story starts out on the plane between Kanto and Kalos, meaning Ash hasn't even met Bonnie or Clement yet, nor has he reunited with Serena. Also, even though this won't be a soul bonding fic, this will be strictly Amourshipping, and considering who his mother was and how she raised him, Ash will be a true gentleman with great respect for women, so he will very much appreciate the opposite sex._

_In short, he'll treat Serena like a queen, and in this fic he'll take on a sort of mentor role to Bonnie, not just with Bonnie though, but with everyone. Now, while this story's Ash will be truly Godlike in both power and intelligence, personality and knowledge wise, he will most definitely be imperfect, in other words, he won't be a Mary Sue character who can do no wrong. Also, Serena will be a noob in this story as well, but for different reasons, having invested the seven years she waited for Ash to study Pokemonology and every aspect of every Pokemon because she wanted to be as ready as she could be before she started off on her journey, plus like many versions of Serena, she still isn't sure what she wants to do with her life and her mom is overprotective too._

_Anyways, this story is strictly AU, so please don't complain about the OOC nature of characters or about the extremely major deviations from canon. This story will be nothing like any of the fanfictions you've read I'm sure, so if you see something that is unusual or uncharacteristic of a particular character, please know that you should probably stop reading if you don't like those kinds of stories. As always, I don't respond to flames, and if you didn't take the time to read this AN that's not my problem, but I won't be responding to anybody who whines about things like what I mentioned above._

_Also, for those of you who have taken the time to review my story or give me constructive criticism on relevant things not including the way I depict my characters and what not, I thank you all so much, you've given me the inspiration I need to start this story as well as continue my other one, Ascension to Pokemon Mastership, for those of you who haven't read it and enjoy a story about Ash with truly Godlike skills, I vigorously recommend that to you as well my friends, since virtually omnipotent characters are my favorite kind of character to write about. Anyways, be expecting Serena to amass mad skills while training under Ash, but don't be expecting her to miraculously become as strong as Ash by the end of the series, since that would be neither realistic or believable. That said, she will eventually be a close second best, next up to Ash and his father Red._

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything, nor do I make any profits off of this whatsoever. This story is rated M for violence, coarse language, epic battles, gore, nudity, and eventual lemons later on in the story._

_I Dedicate this story to Lord of the Dark and the Hunt for giving me so many of my ideas and most of my inspiration._

The Omega Omnisphere's Mightiest Pokemon Master

Book 1: Apocalyptic War of the Anti-God Pokemon

Prologue: A Plane Ride of Memories

It was a terrible privilege, a cursed blessing, wielding such devastating power, a fact one Ash Ketchum from the infamous Pallet town knew all too well. Ever since he boarded the plane from Kanto to the Kalos region, he couldn't help wondering about his fate, and all The Original One, God of the Pokemon Multiverse, expected him to be. He thought back to the day he had captured the Alpha Pokemon Arceus, a top agent of the Original One and one of the few individuals or versions of it's species that predated not only this version of the Pokemon universe, but also the multiverse and a place known only to a select few beyond that, the infinitely vast Anime omniverse, just one of an infinite number of equally vast levels of reality in the infinite accumulation of all things known to Arceus and it's creator as the Omega Omnisphere.

'_The Omega Omnisphere is everything, everything imaginable and unimaginable, all things seemingly fictitious and nonfictional, and an infinite number of other things. It is every endless chain, every endless hierarchy, every creation. It is every universe, multiverse, omniverse, God-verse, and just every verse in general, every level of reality. It is forever the largest thing conceptualized or imagined by any and all minds. I am Arceus, that is true, but there are many others like me scattered across the multiverse, each one of my kind carrying with it the power to shape anything from out of nothingness, as per the will of the Original One, who is this Omniverse's supreme deity and creator, like others including Brahman or God the Father. These omniversal entities all represent the omnibenevolence and the legacy of the one true Divine Creator, the primordial, prototypical version of The-Supreme-One who shaped all of totality from the original darkness that predated everything, no matter how ancient or primordial_,' Arceus had explained to a bewildered Ash who merely sat there with open jaws, gawking at the alpha Pokemon as it explained the sheer absurdity of all this to a trainer who... while infinitely intelligent and possessing limitless psychic powers and a complete mastery of aura, had no idea just how mind bogglingly huge the concept Arceus was trying to have him comprehend was.

'_Okay, so what does this have to do with me, and my role as the Original One's chosen messiah?_' Ash remembered asking, and Arceus fixed him with an intense and serious stare before answering. '_It's quite simple actually, there are many versions of every major character in the Pokemon universe in each and every alternate reality, yourself included. The reason I am telling you all this, is because you are the mightiest version of Ash Ketchum, perhaps of all time in any and all universes ever. You were given some amazing gifts, both by myself and by the Original One in person, all for the purpose of becoming the best there is in your world, and by extension, all other worlds as well. It is my understanding that what significantly impacts one universe can affect the entire multiverse as a whole, like branches hanging off of a single tree, and with a trainer of your caliber setting the standards for all others across the universe and beyond, you will create a legacy so resilient it will endure any hardship, bare any burden, and survive whatever comes our way. So I pass this knowledge onto you and you alone of all the Ash Ketchums. You are Ash Ketchum One Million, and you are the greatest Pokemon trainer in the Omega Omnisphere, which is why even I, the mightiest version of Arceus in perhaps any universe, and top agent of the Omniversal entity that created all seemingly fictional worlds, now profess myself as your ultimate Pokemon, battle me young Ash, and see if you are worthy to possess a Pokemon of my absolute, infinite power, my omnipotent godhood among all Pokemon_," Arceus had roared all-powerfully, and battle him Ash did, but in the end, despite his infinite skills in the field of Pokemon mastership, only the combined powers of his level 100 Mew, Raichu, Alakazam, and mega evolved Mewtwo, had been powerful enough to weaken Arceus to the point where Ash could capture it in a master ball.

Ever since capturing Arceus back in Sinnoh, it had been the omniscient guide that Ash went to whenever there was a question he couldn't answer on his own, which admittedly were very few and far in between. Since the day he was born, Ash had been destined for greatness, and while he still had a hard time accepting the fact that there was more than one Ash Ketchum out there, he knew it didn't really affect him individually, since he wasn't planning on traveling the multiverse anytime soon and seeing what he was uttering in. Knowing this fact didn't change his plans or crush his dreams, indeed it only succeeded in spurring him onward, since becoming the best there was in this world was always his dream. Somehow, knowing he was meant to become the best in all worlds made the Pallet town trainer giddy with excitement, but unless he kept up his brutal training regimens and continued breaking his limits, he wouldn't remain the best trainer in the Omega Omnisphere for long, even with his vast collection of seemingly unbeatable Pokemon assisting him in his endless quest for the top.

Ash had captured every Pokemon outside of Kalos, legendary or otherwise except for Ho-Oh. He didn't know why, but for some reason, he wanted to capture Ho-Oh last since he had seen it first, whether for good luck or because fate's hand was guiding this decision for a reason, Ash didn't know, but he felt compelled to save Ho-Oh for last.

He had captured several of some legendary Pokemon, including the Mew and Mewtwo that faced off against each other all the way back near the very start of his journey, on new Island when Mewtwo had presented the first impossible obstacle for Ash and his ever faithful Alakazam to surmount. He also captured the Mewtwo from the Decorola Islands, and a shiny Mew which was among the most supremely all-powerful Pokemon in his collection, and his most recent capture, having caught it after he returned home for the final time, saying goodbye to Cilan and Iris in the process.

So he had two Mews and two Mewtwos, one Arceus, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, all with their respective orbs and with Giratina in it's origin form. He had captured Arceus in the hall of origin a few months after the incident in Michina town, deciding to give the Alpha Pokemon some time to rest before he set out to capture it and claim supreme Godhood over all other trainers the world over. He had captured Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina all in one day. After following Team Galactic's Cyrus into the reverse world and capturing Giratina, Ash used his mastery of aura, and his own infinite psychic power, to track down and capture Palkia and Dialga as well.

During his journey through Unova, he had also captured the legendary dragon trio, Kyurem, Reshiram, and Zekrom during his year long journey through that region and during the incident with Team Plasma. He also captured the four swords of justice as well as Tornadus, Thunderus, and Landerus, all of them now in their alternate forms.

He had also, in the seven years he had been out on his journey, captured every Pseudo-Legendary, every starter, and every legendary Pokemon outside of Kalos, along with every other Pokemon in existence, including the giant Dragonite from Bill's lighthouse, and the giant Gengar, Alakazam, and Jipplypuff from the Pokomopolis maze, which was now the biggest Wifflytuff in the world. Oak's ranch was filling up constantly, and he had to expand recently as the number of Pokemon Ash was bringing in was too much for the aged professor to accommodate on his own, so Ash had paid the money required to expand the ranch and keep the professor compensated for all his hard work.

His mother had been very pleased with his success. The money he had earned during his journey was quite enormous, even with him sending a portion of each winning to his mom, he still had more than enough. He was rich enough to set him and his Pokemon for life quite comfortably, at over 2 billion Pokedollars total, making him as rich as some of the regional champions. Despite this, he just couldn't keep still, and had to keep moving and keep training on the road, and only when he proved that nobody on earth was superior to him would he stop? Unfortunately, his mom tended to get sad when he said he had to go, but Ash had always been a free spirit, hating to be tied down, and she understood that. She had understood that with him just as she understood it with his father, the one trainer Ash had looked up to all his life, the world famous Red Ketchum, the greatest Pokemon master in all of history.

Despite his father's truly Godly caliber, Ash was close to being, if not, already on his level, and with the Alakazam his father gave to him fully trained and level 100, along with all the virtually omnipotent Pokemon Ash had accumulated over the years, he felt he was almost ready to challenge his old man to the battle to end all battles.

Ash Ketchum had been born with the rarest of all gifts, something his own all-powerful father had been the first ever human to be born with, a gift he passed onto his son. Ash had both a mastery of aura on an infinite level, and was a master psychic and telekinetic, something the world has almost never seen before. He could use his mastery of aura to control all the power in the Pokemon universe, on an infinite level. With it, he could emulate any and all Pokemon attacks, abilities, and powers, whether from legendary Pokemon or otherwise didn't matter, he could copy all powers and mimic them to an infinite degree. He could enhance his strength, stamina, endurance, and speed to god-like levels, and he could even defy gravity at any speed he wished with absolutely no limits. His Alakazam had helped him train and master his psychic powers while his Lucario trained with him in the art of aura, the both of them contributing majorly to the powerful being now sitting on the plane, his trusty starter Raichu sitting asleep in his lap, his other starter Alakazam in it's Pokeball attached to his belt, along with 23 other Pokemon.

No matter the vastness of his aura powers however, Ash was a true psychic at heart, preferring the power of the mind over the power of the soul, which deals with emotions instead of willpower and imagination. Not that Ash wasn't emotional, completely the contrary, but he had always been infinitely intelligent, and that made mastering his psychic powers that much easier.

There was one person who could change that, one childhood friend who brought out an emotional side of Ash Ketchum that he normally kept a tight lid on, and the image of a blue eyed, blonde haired girl with a distinct straw hat and a pink sundress flashed through his mind's eye. He quickly squashed the images and the emotions they drew from him, feeling his heart ache as the memory of her departure became as fresh in his mind as it had always been.

Thanks to his mother, Ash's upbringing had taught him to have nothing but respect for the opposite sex, and people always said that he was very much a gentleman and as sweet as could be. He supposed they were right in a way, because he couldn't stand to see a woman cry, and would do almost anything in his power to make them smile again, even if they were someone he just met. After years of watching his mother cry when she thought he wasn't looking, Ash's heart would break any time he saw these beautiful, wonderful creatures in pain.

His friendship with that girl was just one example of Ash's willingness to treat women with no small amount of respect, even when he was five years old and reading professional research material on Pokemon just to help prepare for his journey five years down the road. It was strange that he thought about Serena while boarding a plane to Kalos, but then again, this was where she had lived before coming to Kanto, and where she moved to once again when she left Ash and moved to the other side of the globe, out of range of the video phones or the Wingull mailing services, making it seem impossible to contact her, though Ash did try valiantly.

The possibility of running into Serena while journeying through Kalos kept running through Ash's infinitely intelligent mind, though his normally vast intellect was slightly marred by the emotions he kept buried beneath the surface for so long, only to risk losing it all now all on the off chance that he'd see her again. Try as he might though, the memory of Serena had been plaguing him almost nonstop since he first booked this flight with Alexa and Brock, who had taken time off as a Pokemon doctor to accompany Ash on his journey through Kalos, much to the Pallet town trainer's delight as the older boy began hitting on Alexa, only to be shocked by her Helioptile while Croagunk dragged away what was left.

Ash was seventeen years old now, having journeyed for seven long years, which had done wonders for his fitness and his physique. He was tall and lean muscled, with tanned skin, amber eyes, and raven hair as black as charcoal. He had curious Z shaped marks on both of his cheeks, a mark of his legacy as the chosen one, which he had inherited at birth via predetermination. He was wearing a red cap with a Pokeball insignia on it, and he was clothed in a blue and black jacket vest over top of a black tea shirt, and simple blue jeans with white trim.

His Journey had been beyond amazing, having made so many friends during his travels, and names and faces like Brock, Misty, May, Max, Dawn, Iris, and Cilan all ran through his mind, each face bringing with it such fond memories. Ash was no fool, especially when it came to the opposite sex and romance. He knew May and Dawn had both been deeply infatuated with him and eventually both of them fell for him as their journey together grew more indescribable and Ash amassed more and more infinite power as a trainer. Ultimately, he had to let them both go though, because his heart only belonged to one, as it always had since the day he met her in that forest all those years ago.

Upon seeing the pain his rejection caused them both however, Ash immediately felt guilty, perfectly understanding if May and Dawn alike didn't want to be his friends anymore or even if they downright loathed him, but he couldn't change the way he felt. Honestly, although they were both beautiful women in their own right, Ash was a one woman kind of guy, and didn't support the idea of having multiple girlfriends when his mother had always taught him about loyalty... and devotion, the kinds of principles so few people abide by these days.

All his life, Ash had been special, he had been destined to become one of, if not _the_ greatest Pokemon Master in the entire Omega Omnisphere, with very few exceptions, his father Red being one of them, and maybe a few other versions of Ash Ketchum out there somewhere in the multiverse. He often wondered if Serena had been journeying all this time as well, and wondered how much power she would amass as the memory of another conversation he had with Arceus ran though his mind.

'_Beside every great hero throughout history, there has often been a great woman guiding him to greatness. Serena has not yet amassed anywhere near the amount of power you have Ash, but by helping each other, both of you will grow stronger and stronger without __limit__, and someday she will be good enough to walk by your side as your equal, after you have taught her everything you know that is. The thing is Ash, you have assimilated powers and Pokemon very few People could ever dream of __possessing__, and even if Serena did start her journey at the same time you did, the odds of her starting out with __two__ fully trained Pokemon like you did are pretty astronomical. The fact is, she hasn't really started her journey yet, from what I can tell, her mother is being overprotective and she is investing a lot of her time preparing for the road ahead by studying Pokemonology and every branch of Pokemon knowledge in existence. That said, you have at least a 7 year head start on the girl, and she is going to have to work many, many times harder than you did if she is to ever become your equal, though I'm sure with you teaching and pushing her to the outer limits of her abilities and beyond, she'll be a trainer worthy of you_,' Arceus had explained in a lengthy anecdote.

Upon hearing this, Ash suddenly felt saddened, realizing that a part of the reason Serena may not have left on her journey even after all this time was because she actually took the extensive plans they made together as kids seriously, unlike him. For years during his journey, Ash had been on the lookout for any sign, staring into the crowds at every tournament he participated in, examining every face he could see in every large crowd of people he had ever been in, hoping to find a hint of her dazzling smile, her sapphire eyes, or her long honey blonde hair that was as soft and as smooth as silk thanks to all the care she put into her appearance.

He had wondered for years why she hadn't come looking for him when the both of them became old enough to start their journeys? Ash had considered going to Kalos first thing and finding Serena so the both of them could travel through Kalos together, regardless of the fact that his native region was Kanto or how far he would be away from it for who knows how long. In the end though, he chickened out, not wanting to be so far away from his mom on his first journey and clinging to the notion that Serena would come find him in Kanto instead, that she would run into him at some unexpected point during their journeys, especially since she was at least familiar with Kanto like he was whereas he was completely unfamiliar with Kalos, but she never came for him.

Had she forgotten about him? Would she even have recognized him had they run into each other? He dreaded the answers, not knowing if she was still his friend after all these years. People grew apart quite often, and though Ash had always cherished his friendship with Serena as one of the most precious things in the world, could he really expect her to be as fond of those memories and their extensive history together? After all, 9 years was a long time, and they had been 8 years old when she left for the other side of the globe, never to return, never able to reach him, never able to contact him since phones back then were limited and couldn't go past the borders of a single region. All of these questions and more had plagued Ash for years during his journey, and he realized that Serena may have changed a lot as well. Now that he knew she hadn't started her journey, possibly partly because of a promise they made each other as kids, Ash felt like he had failed her as a friend, and swore then and there to spend his entire journey through Kalos making it up to her, assuming she still remembered him and assuming she was even still in the Kalos region and not moved somewhere else with her mom, though he rather doubted it.

He knew he could use both his psychic powers and his aura powers on an infinite level and easily track her down, the problem he had was the fact that the world was a huge place, and even if he managed to get a fix on her location, he still had to wait to find her anyways, and couldn't just arbitrarily teleport himself to her. Not only would that startle the living daylights out of her, but once she got over her shock, he'd have some serious explaining to do, since his abilities hadn't fully manifested while they were kids, instead during rather pivotal moments on his journey. He had told all of his other friends about his god-like powers, and remarkably all of them seemed to accept him and his abnormalities. Some of them, namely Brock and Misty, knew he was the fabled Chosen One, and every Pokemon on the planet greatly respected him and were drawn to him by some mysterious force, a power of aura he radiated that was able to calm even the most violent of legendary Pokemon. He and Serena used to play out in the forest on the outskirts of Pallet town, and wild Pokemon always used to come to them in the dozens, showering Ash with affection and Serena as well, much to the honey blonde's delight and amusement as Ash was licked incessantly while giggling.

Quickly regaining his composure, Ash smiled fondly at the memories he and his best childhood friend shared, remembering their motto to 'never give up until the end.' It was the philosophy Ash had been raised on, and the philosophy he passed onto Serena when the two of them quickly became best friends. He remembered every moment throughout his life, iconic or otherwise, all the way back to the day he was born.

Due to his infinite intelligence and the brain that produced it, Ash had an eidetic memory, remembering everything he had ever seen, heard, smelt, touched, and tasted throughout his entire life, and that often caused him to become lost in thought as his brain processed so much information all the time it was a wonder he didn't get a migraine even a Psyduck could be proud of.

His Alakazam, the fully trained Pokemon he got as a gift from his all-powerful father Red, had enabled him to catch and train Pokemon at a phenomenal rate, making him strong enough to take on the Indigo Plateau tournament by time he was done his year long journey in Kanto, having caught all 149 Kanto Pokemon aside from Mewtwo and Mew, which he recovered his memories of later on when he encountered the Mewtwo again on Mt. Kayna in the Johto region. Sufficed it to say, winning the Kanto league was no easy feat, but Ash managed to use his Alakazam, Raichu, Charizard, Blastoise, Venesaur, and his super sized, 150 foot Dragonite to win the Indigo Plateau challenge.

Lance had been absolutely floored when he saw Ash's giant Dragon type Pokemon for the first time, and watched in utter astonishment as it practically trampled his team. Only Lance's own well trained Dragonite had provided a problem for Ash's monster Pokemon, but believe it or not, his giant Pokemon had all the proportionate strength, speed, and stats of a level 100 Dragonite it's size, making it's attack stat infinite, it's speed infinite, and it's special attack, special defense, defense, and HP near-infinite _that_ early on, giving Ash all the fire power he needed to beat Lance and secure his win over the Kanto Pokemon league, earning him the champion level trainer ranking and giving him the right to build teams of up to 25 Pokemon, all of this taking place on his 11th birthday, exactly a year after his journey began.

His super Dragonite had only grown by leaps and bounds since then, along with _all_ of his absurdly powerful Pokemon. The giant monster dragon Pokemon now had a stat total of Infinity, and every one of it's stats, including it's attack stats, defense stats, it's speed, and even somehow it's evasiveness and accuracy, were now at a truly infinite level, though how it so easily dodged attacks despite it's size was incredible even by Ash's standards. Then again, it could move at literally any speed it wanted with absolutely no limits, even infinite speeds allowing it to encompass every temporality and locality in the Anime Omniverse, rendering it essentially omnipresent.

He had definitely come a long way since his journey began, and he was definitely well on his way to becoming world champion just like his father Red had done before mysteriously vanishing. Still, Ash had to wonder if what Arceus said was true, becoming the best there ever was in one world was one thing, but becoming the mightiest and greatest Pokemon master in the _Omega Omnisphere_?! Ash was strong, but even he wasn't sure if he could live up to that, according to Arceus though, his influence would reach far beyond the borders of this version of the Pokemon universe, and would create a legacy resilient enough to survive the apocalyptic showdown ahead, something that made Ash shiver just thinking about.

Whatever danger was out there, Arceus hinted that it would be the greatest challenge Ash or anyone else in this world ever faced, a dark force as ancient as the Alpha Pokemon himself, a primordial evil that predated the Anime Omniverse. Just hearing Arceus say those words made Ash's skin crawl and caused his body to break out in goosebumps, most definitely the unpleasant variety, but whatever this impending doom was, or whatever it planned to unleash, Arceus wasn't saying much. Ash didn't care how powerful it was though, he'd take it on like he had everything else, and he wouldn't let it stop him from enjoying his journey through Kalos. He realized Kalos was the last of the regions he had to explore, and upon looking at a world map, he discovered to his dismay that he was nearing the end of his journey, having traversed the vast distance of almost the entire planet in the seven years he had been traveling. There was little options left to him where traveling was concerned, because after this there would be no new regions to explore, truly the last journey of Ash's epic voyage, and hopefully the best.

He was brought out of his musing by a slight jerk of the airplane he was on, a wind turbine hitting it slightly as it seemed to rock slightly and jerked Brock and Alexa beside him awake, still night time out since they had been flying for almost the entire night. "Huh, what happened, are we crashing?" Brock wondered nonchalantly, half asleep as Ash merely chortled in response, his Raichu perking it's ears as it's long black tail with the lightning bolt shaped tip twitched slightly.

Ash smiled fondly at the rodent Pokemon, it was one of the only Pokemon he had that hated being confined to a Pokeball and insisted on remaining with Ash all throughout his journey. It had been the second Pokemon he received from his father Red, who had sent Raichu to professor Oak at his laboratory to surprise Ash with, since the professor had absentmindedly misplaced his birthday gift for the boy, something Ash wasn't sure how his father had known. He hadn't found out about it until his training progressed enough for him to talk to Pokemon and he got the story from Raichu, which had been bred from Red's own monster of a Pikachu and trained by Red himself to the highest level, level 100. Considering the power Ash's legendary level electric type now possessed in battle, it was pretty easy to believe that his Raichu was in the same family as _that_ Pikachu.

His Raichu was one of the single most powerful and blessed electric type Pokemon Ash had in his possession, having been zapped by Zekrom and given the power to use the legendary Bolt Strike attack during Ash's journey through Unova, a move with no known upper limit to it's strength. It had absorbed the power of the blue orb, which at the time had been a really precarious situation but the aftermath yielded some really positive affects, like giving Raichu the ability to produce a strange red electricity in it's body that when channeled into it's electric type attacks, enabled Raichu to ignore the type match ups completely and land super effective hits against all types of Pokemon, even ground types weren't immune to Raichu's red electricity.

Even though it had been fully trained by Red before he sent it to professor Oak to give to Ash, Ash had maxed out all of Raichu's stats to the infinite levels often seen in a legendary or champion level Pokemon of Raichu's caliber.

During his journey through Sinnoh, Ash had come across a tournament competition with a rare prize, a prize only elite or champion level trainers could compete for as Ash signed up all to eagerly. Having won the tournament with relative ease, Ash secured his new prize, a mega ring which enabled him to mega evolve his Alakazam and other Pokemon.

Mega rings were mysterious stones, and could somehow recognize the value of the trainer wearing it. Beginning trainers who could build teams of up to six Pokemon could only mega evolve one Pokemon per battle, but Elite level trainers could mega evolve three, and champion level trainers like Ash could mega evolve as many as they wanted, even if their entire team of 25 Pokemon was made up of Pokemon that could mega evolve.

Looking down at his full belt, Ash had assembled a virtually unbeatable team before coming to Kalos to take the gym challenge. His father Red had conquered all the regional leagues and become world champion, and Ash was no exception, always requesting a battle with the gym leader's best teams, the ones they used against Red and leveled up extensively. With the exception of Brock, Misty, and quite a few other gym leaders who weren't around in Red's time, the gym leaders such as Pryce in Johto, Juan in Hoenn, Blaine in Kanto, Volkner in Sinnoh, and Draydon in Unova had all been happy to accept his request and battled him with their original teams, the ones they used against his father Red all those years ago, giving Ash the challenging battles he craved.

Cynthia and the other regional champions were convinced that Ash was well on his way to becoming as powerful as his father, and even Lance admitted that Ash was one of the most powerful trainers he had ever seen. Ash grinned to himself as he flashed back to his victory over the Indigo Plateau Pokemon league, having been even younger than his father and his famous rival Blue Oak when they conquered the league for the first time.

Of course, the battle against Lance was only an easy one when Ash had busted out his giant Dragonite, which not only had the advantage against other dragon types and had a massive move pool, but also was level 100 when Ash caught it and big enough to crush most Pokemon under it's feet. Until he brought out that monster Pokemon, Lance's team had been a bastard to beat, his Gyrados beating Ash's Charizard and Blastoise before finally falling to his Venesaur. His Raichu, Alakazam, and Dragonite had been the only two Pokemon he had left while Lance had 5, His first Dragonite having defeated his Venesaur with relative ease and left Ash with three Pokemon while Lance himself still had five, and since the battle had only been a 6 on 6 battle that didn't include the champion's full 25 Pokemon team, Ash knew he had gotten super lucky during that fight. His colossal Dragonite however managed to sweep the rest of Lance's team with ease, only having difficulty with Lance's final Pokemon, his strongest Dragonite, which almost managed to beat Ash's own before it finally fell.

As he sat there thinking about all his past adventures, Brock had woken up again as if sensing Ash was still awake. "You should be sleeping Ash, it's 3 in the morning," Brock yawned, and Ash dug his fingernails into his thighs, tension rising up in him like bile. "I can't Brock, I'm just too wired. I just keeping having this inexplicable premonition that my best and most exciting journey yet is just ahead, yet I can't help feeling depressed that I'm nearing the end of it to. It's like they say I suppose, it's not the destination that's important, it's the journey getting there, and I for one find it particularly demoralizing that this is it. We've reached the other side of the world Brock, we've come to the end of our journeys together, doesn't that bother you?" Ash wondered, and Brock scratched his bearded chin in thought.

"I never really thought about it like that before, but yeah you're right Ash. I guess all we can do after this point is find another dream to strive towards. You and I have shared so many grand adventures that I never want them to end, in fact that's why I took time off from pursuing my goal to become a Pokemon doctor, because I missed traveling with you so much and wanted to do so again. Unfortunately, as the saying goes Ash, all good things must come to an end at some point," Brock replied wisely, and Ash couldn't help smiling, even if it was just a little.

"I guess the end of one journey is the start of the next. I may have reached the end of the world but the world itself is constantly changing. Before long, new powers will awaken in all the old familiar places, new things will happen, new people will be born to liven up the Pokemon world even more. I guess I was just afraid because I've traveled all this way and learned so much, but the journey doesn't end just because I've scoured the entire earth, I still have to go back and conquer the leagues I haven't yet, and I have to challenge my father Red to the final and ultimate battle of all time..." Ash paused, and Brock merely stared at him. "Once you win, and you will, what do you think will happen next..." Brock asked, and Ash smiled. "No way to know is there, starting a family, watching the next generation of dreamers grow, I can definitely see the merits in settling down, but I've grown so accustomed to traveling, I can't help but wonder if settling down will ever be in my nature. I guess after I've achieved my lifelong dream and become the world's greatest Pokemon master, there will be nothing left for me to do but wait and see I guess, because I'm sure my dream to be the best there ever was is an absurd goal. As long as I shall live, I shall seek the ultimate opponents in battle, and I intend to win. Yet at the same time, I believe there is more to life than simply winning battles and defeating evil," Ash whispered philosophically, and Brock sweat dropped slightly at the level of intellectual depth displayed in Ash's proclamation.

Ash had always been the smartest person Brock knew, even if he tended not to use his head at times and could be kind of reckless, when he did use his brain he was a force to be reckoned with. Brock had nothing but respect for the boy... no the man sitting beside him, even if he tended to get offended by Brock's countless attempts to hit on women, the older man had grown to respect Ash a lot during their journeys. For all his quirks, Ash was the strongest, smartest, and most dedicated trainer Brock had ever known, and he wasn't the only one that thought so. Everyone, people and Pokemon alike, just felt compelled to be near him at all times, and Brock knew this was partly due to Ash's own legacy as the fabled chosen one, a human who would lead the Pokemon world to greater change than it has ever known before, he would be the catalyst who created the ultimate legacy, who uttered in the greatest age of peace and prosperity the world has ever known. All this, Brock knew with absolute certainty, and he had faith in Ash's imminent destiny. No matter what adversity they faced, he knew Ash would lead them to victory because that's what he was, a leader.

"Well, I don't exactly understand everything you were saying just now Ash, but you know I've got your back, and we both know that what's on the horizon could very well be our most epic adventure yet, so what do you say, why don't you get some sleep? Raichu seems to be faring well I see, it's definitely sleeping better than you are, so why don't you follow it's lead? Even you have your limits, and you're going to need your strength for our arrival tomorrow," Brock pointed out logically, and Ash sighed in resignation, realizing his most constant companion aside from his Pokemon was right. He did have limits, and he did need sleep just like any other human, staying up all night like this wasn't good, especially not for an unlimited psychic and telekinetic like himself, who needed rest in order to keep himself at optimum performance.

"Will do Brock, thanks for the pep talk man," Ash murmured graciously, and Brock nodded before laying his head back and snoring as sleep instantly took a hold of him. Deciding to follow Brock's lead, Ash lowered his mental alertness using his own unlimited psychic powers, knowing that he had only been awake this long because he wanted time to think, so he used his psychic powers to manipulate his own brain into keeping him awake, but now that he and Brock had this little talk, he was ready to sleep now. So with a loud yawn that remarkably didn't wake anyone up, Ash closed his eyes and was asleep in an instant, his Raichu laying comfortably on his lap like a warm, furry comforter.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: Hey again peeps, it's PokeloverTJC with the second chapter of the Omega Omnisphere's Mightiest Pokemon Master, and I must say, I am riddled with excitement at the prospect of writing this story, since nigh-omnipotent characters are right up my alley and exactly the kind of story I strive to make a decent one. In my experience, I've learned that stories that depict all-powerful characters quickly gets either redundant, loses it's appeal, or just ultimately suck and are not done in the proper way. A common way most writers seal their fate with these kinds of characters is making them essentially perfect in every way, and not just perfect in terms of power. An omnipotent or nigh-omnipotent character needs to have some kind of personality flaw or human emotions in order to at least be somewhat tolerable, never mind a joy to read about. It's the kind of story that really needs to be done right, and I find very few writers, myself included, who are up to this daunting task. That said, I long to break that streak, to create a story about such characters that is not only still somewhat realistic, but also enjoyable to read, and for the most part, I think I've succeeded. Also, a piece of advice to those select few writers and readers with my particular taste in character power levels, a guideline of sorts. If you're going to make the hero virtually almighty, you should make the villain at least as strong, otherwise the battle is one sided, the balance of power is disturbed, and your story will most likely crash and burn. So while it is awesome to depict such uber strong characters, the story will hold pretty much no entertainment value if the obstacles standing in that character's way aren't capable of pushing him or her to the brink of their abilities. Anyways, that's that for my friendly creative writing advice, and I'm sure all of you would like me to get on with the bloody story already, but first a few more things I'd like to say. One, I've heard somewhere that making OC characters in Pokemon can sometimes be a bad idea if it is not done right, but I think the OC legendary Pokemon I have in mind will not only be epic as fuck, but bad to the bone, meaning it is truly an infinitely evil being, one that makes Shadow Lugia in XD Gale of Darkness look like a Magicarp in comparison, or some other seemingly useless Pokemon. Two, a recent crisis in my family may hinder the frequency of my updates for a while, at least until things settle down and get better, but nevertheless I will NOT abandon this story EVER, since it is my only refuge from all the craziness of my life outside of fantasy and . Finally, even for those of you who don't usually appreciate a story that depicts characters of the godly sort with omnipotent power levels, don't knock this story until you try it peeps, because from what I've been told by my ever faithful reviewers, my work is some of the best they've seen, and even people who normally don't appreciate characters of this particular brand are reading through and enjoying the fact that I've made my version of Ash realistic and still human despite his extra perks. I don't know what exactly I did to receive such praise for my writing, but I am eternally grateful I got around to joining this site, and now, on with the story my friends, and as usual, read, rate, and review._

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything, nor do I make any profits off of this whatsoever. Rated for mild language._

_This story is dedicated to Lord of the Dark and the Hunt, who gave me much of my inspiration and many of my more brilliant ideas._

Chapter 1: The Arrival of a Champion

Ash was roused from a rather pleasant dream about winning the Kalos league and conquering the regional Champion in a full, unrestricted, 25 Pokemon battle by the air currents, which shook the plane roughly from time to time but luckily did no damage. As he awoke, he became aware of it being morning outside, and realized that the timezones were changing as he crossed over to the other side of the world, his Raichu sound asleep in his lap, Brock snoring to his right, and Alexa sitting on the seat nearest the window overlooking the world below.

When they had left Kanto, it had been sometime in the morning, but that changed when they crossed over the borders that separated the western and eastern hemispheres somewhere in the Hoenn region if memory served him, and they suddenly found the time had abruptly changed from 10 AM to 10 PM at night, a difference of over 12 hours, all in a couple of hours of flying.

Such things didn't really worry Ash, but it was interesting to think that the perception of time could completely change as a person moved from one place to another. Ash knew that time was the non spacial continuum in which events occurred linearly and usually in the direction of increased entropy, and it pretty much stayed the same, yet at the same time, one's conceptualization of temporal reality could become obscured and distorted as they moved from one place to the next.

Time itself was for the most part, an abstract concept, an unseen force of nature that primordial legendary Pokemon like his Dialga embodied and had the power to completely control on any scale and to any degree. Despite this however, Ash couldn't help wondering if time was more than simply a bodiless, formless piece of the total continuity, and if a concept could be destroyed or have an end. Was there an end to time? Was there some merits behind the theory of heat death, entropy, and all the other hypothetical cosmological theories that foretold the end of all life in the universe and quite possibly beyond? Ash didn't know the answer, but he sure as hell dreaded it, wondering if Pokemon like Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina were really as eternal as many thought them to be.

He was getting way off topic though, and though the prospect of dying and not knowing what came after worried him as much as it worried any other mortal, Ash was determined to live a good life, become the best there ever was or ever would be, then maybe find a girlfriend who would then become his wife and help him settle down and start a family. Lately, Ash had been thinking a lot about his future, especially since he was nearing the end of the proverbial road, the last region on earth now on the horizon, and with it, the last stretch of his Pokemon journey.

Ash had been the youngest trainer to ever beat the Indigo Plateau in history, and was the youngest champion level trainer in the world, even younger than Cynthia who was around 24 years old now and was a very good friend of his, having helped him disband Team Galactic, defeat Cyrus, and watched in wonder as he battled and captured Giratina then Dialga and Palkia. Also, it didn't hurt that the young female regional champion was totally gorgeous, and truly a beautiful woman beyond compare.

Ash wasn't like Brock, he wasn't looking for a date on principle, and unlike his old friend, wasn't slightly perverted, but that didn't mean he didn't appreciate the beauty, elegance, and the attraction of the opposite sex. Cynthia had been just one of the many female trainers Ash had taken a liking to, but like any other woman he met, he kept her, Dawn, and all the others strictly in the friend zone, vowing to never interact with another woman in a semi romantic way until he reunited with Serena.

The worry he had felt from last night about Serena not knowing who he was anymore came crawling back from the depths of his infinitely intelligent mind, but he quickly squashed the anxiousness and unease eating away at him. Whether or not Serena recognized him right away, there was no way she could forget about all the wonderful times they shared, especially since that girl had a memory that rivaled his own and was almost completely eidetic. He knew he was being irrational, and almost laughed out loud at his illogical fears. Serena _would_ remember him, and even if she didn't right away, he'd make damn sure the two of them were friends again at the very least.

Looking down at himself, Ash knew he wasn't bad looking, and he was smart, funny, quirky, passionate, fun, and devoted to any and all of his friends and family. At least Dawn said he was, along with nearly every other girl he had traveled with, so it must be true. All he had to do was be himself, and he was confident he and Serena would be inseparable once they got to know each other again, not that he didn't know anything about the Serena he knew from his childhood, in fact he knew pretty much everything about her.

Change was inevitable though, and after 9 long, agonizing years since their separation, Ash knew Serena wouldn't be the girl he remembered, not by a long shot. After 7 long years of traveling and amassing absolute power as a Pokemon trainer, Ash knew he wasn't the same little boy he was either. He had always been infinitely intelligent, but now he was much older, wiser, and more mature after years of befriending countless people and Pokemon and making some very powerful and intelligent enemies.

Underneath it all though, Ash knew he was still ultimately the same person he was back then, change or not, he still had an appetite that could rival a Snorlax, and he was reckless, headstrong, and stubborn, traits his mother said he inherited from his father Red. He was also friendly, outgoing, and put his heart and soul into everything he did, new or otherwise. While he was usually an analytical thinker, Ash also had an impulsive side to him that tended to get him into a lot of trouble, like all the times he had almost died while trying to save some Pokemon in distress, or was getting attacked by an enraged legendary.

Hell, the Mewtwo and Mew that battled on New Island actually succeeded in doing him in, and if not for the Pokemon tears bringing him back from the brink of death, Ash would be pushing up daisies at this point. After had had captured _that_ Mewtwo and Mew, which he did a few weeks after parting ways with Mewtwo a second time in Johto, both legendary Pokemon had opted to restore his memory of the events that transpired on new Island, as a way to atone for it's sins, according to what Mewtwo told him, but Ash had already forgiven it.

Mewtwo had opted to join his party after Ash and it parted ways at Mt. Kayna. Once the legendary Pokemon had found suitable habitats for all it's friends, it came looking for Ash and decided that the Pallet town trainer was the one true Chosen One, the Pokemon master worthy of collecting and training all the legendary Pokemon, and so Mewtwo captured itself in one of those strange silver and black Pokeballs, and Ash had yet another legendary, having already caught the Lugia that helped him back when Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno were about the destroy the world and Lawrence the third had disturbed the harmony of fire, ice, and lightning.

Mere seconds after his capture of Mewtwo, the Mew from the same family as it's clone appeared to Ash and co as though sensing he was the Chosen One as well and captured it's copy. After using his newly mastered psychic powers to translate what the Mew was saying, Ash nodded with an eager, ecstatic grin and captured one of the most powerful legendary Pokemon in his collection to date, a level 100 Mew capable of controlling all the powers, abilities, and moves in the Pokemon universe and beyond on a near-infinite level, rendering it nigh-omnipotent.

With this Mew in Ash's possession, he and professor Oak obtained more data on the new species Pokemon than there had ever been before. They quickly discovered that the previous estimations of Mew's power levels didn't do it justice, and it was actually still one of the most powerful legendary Pokemon in existence, even with it's clone Mewtwo, Lugia, Ho-Oh, and other absurdly powerful legends to compare it too. His shiny Mew was even more powerful still, possessing the same powers as the other Mew, but controlling them on an infinite level rather than a near-infinite level, making it arguably the most ancient and supremely powerful Pokemon in Ash's vast collection.

Even now, with their knowledge on nearly every legendary Pokemon in existence, Oak and Ash were shocked to find that Mew was still ranked as one of the five most powerful legendary Pokemon in the world and quite possibly the universe, the other ones being Arceus, Mewtwo, and Kyurem as well as Kyogre and Groudon in their newly discovered forms, which looked vastly different to the titans of the land and the sea Ash was accustomed to, though with how rapidly the world was changing the last 100 years, Ash wasn't surprised to see that the Pokemon were adapting. Even Groudon and Kyogre were evolving as the landmasses constantly shifted, the seas expanded, and global warming heated the overall temperature of the entire world to higher levels than it has seen in millions of years. Professor Oak said that Pokemon were going to continue to become more diverse and new species might even be discovered as new powers awakened and the world of Pokemon continued to undergo dramatic change.

Arceus had said that Mew was akin to a being from another dimension known as Noah, who built an ark the save the world's creatures from a flood. It said that Mew carried within it the infinite gene pool of every Pokemon legendary or otherwise in existence, past, present, and future. It told Ash that it created Mew to be the ultimate preserver of all life, so that if the Pokemon world ever found itself short of a certain species or certain kinds of Pokemon were facing extinction, Mew could use it's infinite arsenal of powers, along with it's genetic template to recreate that species and repopulate the earth, even if every other Pokemon had been somehow wiped out, Mew would survive. That's what it was, the ultimate survivor, even Arceus questioned whether or not it would outlive Mew, but it mentioned to Ash that even if Mew did somehow outlive it's creator, it could bring the Alpha Pokemon back as well, possessing all the power in the Pokemon universe and the power to save the world and preserve all life for eternity.

Then there was mega evolution, which allowed a trainer's Pokemon to evolve past the final stage, like a Charizard evolving further, and strangely enough, the transformation was a temporary one. The power of mega evolution was still relatively new, but it had taken the entire world of Pokemon by storm, and now nearly every regional champion and member of the Elite Four in all the regions had a mega ring, including the Kalos Elite Four and Champion Diantha, whom Ash had read up on extensively for a few days before boarding the plane to the region in question.

Ash had gotten lucky with his mega ring, having won it in a tournament back in Sinnoh, a tournament that only permitted elite or champion level Pokemon trainers, which was good because Ash had been a champion level trainer for years at that point, allowing him to win the tournament and the prize without too much hassle, though he faced Paul in the finals, a trainer who, while a truly powerful elite level trainer, had also been cruel to his Pokemon and who's treatment of them always made Ash's blood boil.

After beating Paul and winning his mega ring, Ash took the time to lecture his rival from Sinnoh about how to treat Pokemon, and how to win battles by training them up to a super high level. Ash explained that through rigorous training, humans and Pokemon could become stronger without limit, borrowing wisdom from Bruno of the Kanto Elite Four who he soundly defeated a few years back, and he was glad Paul wasn't so set in his ways that he completely disregarded his rival's heartfelt speech.

With a mega ring in his possession, Ash began studying up on mega evolution and quickly discovered that the Pokemon capable of mega evolving had to absorb special stones in their bodies, stones which Ash was sadly lacking at the moment and would have to collect on his own. During his training to master aura and his psychic powers on an infinite level, Ash gained the ability to speak with his Pokemon and translate all forms of Pokespeeh, enabling him to speak to his Raichu, his Alakazam, and all his other Pokemon, legendary or otherwise. Of course, his Mewtwo could decipher and speak all languages and translate what Ash was saying to his Pokemon and vise versa, but most Pokemon were capable of understanding human speech patterns anyways and Ash could now ask his Mew a favor without any fear of the request being misinterpreted.

Upon receiving the request, Mew used it's own infinite arsenal of powers and abilities to emulate the energy that created the mega stones and create mega stones for both Ash's Johto Mewtwo and Alakazam, both of whom were in his 25 Pokemon team right now on this plane; along with his shiny Mew, his Mewtwo from the Decorola islands (which could mega evolve into both it's mega forms without a trainer), Arceus, Raichu, the giant Gengar from Pokemopolis, the giant Dragonite from Bill's lighthouse, his Charizard, his Garchomp, (which was bred from Cynthia's and was among the most powerful Pokemon he caught in Sinnoh and son of Sinnoh's most powerful Pokemon period) his Sceptile, Snorlax, the Latios and Latias he helped out at Altomare and later went back for after his journey through Sinnoh, (he had gone back to resurrect the Latios from the soul dew using his newly mastered aura powers, which he trained in with the Lucario he captured while traveling with Dawn) the Lucario he obtained in Sinnoh, the giant Wigglytuff from Pokemopolis, the giant Alakazam from Pokemopolis, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Kyogre, and Groudon. (Both it and Kyogre were capable of using their new forms which afforded them limitless offensive power and a lot of other limitless capabilities, and Kyurem could access both it's black and white forms which afforded it the same infinite offensive power and strength)

All of these Pokemon were virtually omnipotent level 100 Pokemon, and some of the most powerful ones in Ash's entire collection of 648 Pokemon, literally every Pokemon outside of Kalos except for Ho-Oh, which he wanted to capture last. The team he assembled could counter pretty much any other, champion level or otherwise. Heck, his Arceus alone could sweep most champion level teams with ease, and unlike other Pokemon, Arceus was an all-powerful god that created it's own limitations, something the alpha Pokemon said made a lot more sense than leading an eternal existence of absolute power. Before the universe began, Arceus wasn't a Pokemon, it was an omnipotent entity that wondered aimlessly through the primordial darkness, only attaining physical form once it shaped the Pokemon universe from out of nothingness and became mistakenly known as the Original One, which it was not. Arceus made it very clear that while it was connected to the Original One, it was only one part of an infinitely greater whole that the Original One encompassed, a part of the supreme god's nature. With the world and everything in it created by Arceus, it took physical form and became the very first Pokemon, legendary or otherwise.

He recalled some very wise words his Mewtwo from new island and Johto once said to him, some time after he captured Arceus. '_I understand the alpha Pokemon's desire to limit it's own unfathomable power. It's one thing to possess certain limitless capabilities or even the complete arsenal of powers at a limited level, but to be supremely omnipotent in every sense and aspect is a meaningless existence Ash. If you think about it, it's not hard to work out actually, if Arceus didn't stick to the boundaries it created for itself, then life for it would ultimately cease to have meaning __due to the lack of excitement, the challenges, or the enthrallment __and ecstasy__ of overcoming adversity when it presents an actual problem to you__. That's why gods can __never__ be true heroes, they can't be hurt or killed, so they can't take actual risks or make genuine sacrifices so in a way, Arceus's choice to bind itself in Pokemon form __and limit it's power was a wise move. Perfection and __supreme Godhood__ are overrated, I think Arceus was very wise to choose happiness over power_," Mewtwo said telepathically, surprising Ash with it's astonishing intelligence and wisdom, which rivaled his own.

Despite Mewtwo's assessment, and despite Arceus's self created limits, it was still a god among Pokemon, capable of completely warping the fabric of reality on any scale and to any degree, enabling it to control the omniverse and even the Omega Omnisphere itself. It can create absolutely anything from out of nothingness, and possesses limitless physical strength and speed, controls infinite amounts of spiritual force and the power of aura, possesses limitless psychic powers of any and all kinds as well as boundless telekinesis, and is infinitely intelligent. Arceus was also nigh-omniscient, giving it almost infinite knowledge of all things, the only exceptions being certain futures and fates of certain people and Pokemon. It had absolute power over all Pokemon, and could completely control all things by tapping into the original power from which it was born. On top of all that, it had a move pool almost as massive as Mew's, and had the absolute power of it's signature move Judgement to call upon, a move that rained down from the heavens and had the power to obliterate mountains, raze cities, and even destroy worlds.

It's only weakness was that it had the same weaknesses as a Pokemon, bound by the type match-up and thus enabling any super effective move that was powerful enough to deal massive damage. Even that was somewhat untrue though, because of it's Multitype ability and the fact that it could alternate between seventeen different types at will utilizing the sixteen life plates it had in it's possession. When it used any of those plates, it became immune to all the attacks of the same type as the plate it was using, though one drawback was that it could only use one life plate at a time, giving it's opponent a split second opportunity to hit it with something before it could switch to the appropriate plate to counter. In short, the only way to land a hit on Arceus was to hit it too hard and fast for it to switch to another type in time.

Arceus had informed Ash of something that surprised the pallet town trainer before he boarded the plane. One of it's life plates was in Kalos, in a place called the Pokemon Village, a place it wanted Ash to go explore and help find the pixie plate, which contained the power of fairy types within it, a newly discovered type that was completely immune to dragon type moves. When Ash asked why Arceus had diminished it's life by leaving it's pixie plate behind like that, Arceus merely stated that it wanted to limit it's immunity to all attacks, and chose to hide away the pixie plate so fairy type moves could hit it. Now that Ash was headed to Kalos after proving Arceus could be defeated in a battle however, the alpha Pokemon had decided it wants it's pixie plate back, so Ash agreed to stop by the Pokemon village during his journey through Kalos.

Another air current rocked the plane, startling Ash out of his reverie as Brock and Alexa woke up beside him, the other passengers in front of, behind, and on the other side of the aisle all stirring as a unit. Looking behind him at his backpack, Ash quickly adjusted his position and gently slid out of the shoulder straps before laying it between him and Raichu, who had also woken up from it's spot in his lap and was now greeting it's trainer with a small yawn.

As Raichu hopped off Ash's shoulder and onto the floor between his and Brock's seat, the whole plane became filled with noises, both humans and Pokemon alike while Ash opened up his backpack to check on the things contained within. Aside from extra sets of clothes, he also had his keepsakes from his journey which included his half Pokeball from Gary, his half, polished contest ribbon from May, his fishing lure from Misty, his photo from Dawn of her and him back in Twinleaf town, smiling at the camera while Dawn's Empoleon and his Raichu gave each other a high five in the background, and a curious, elegant pink ribbon that he had actually received before his journey began. There was also his Pokemon food containers filled with Pokemon food, but since Brock agreed to cover them on the food department, Ash didn't bother bringing too much, though he did bring his Pokedollar bank card, which contained the billions of dollars he had accumulated over all his years of traveling and battling strong opponents.

Finally, his eyes rested on the item he was intending to find all along, even if he had become a little sidetracked. A large, white Pokemon egg sat unchanged on top of his other things, but Ash could sense the power of the Pokemon contained within, and it's potential to ascend to limitless levels of power, especially since it was a legendary Pokemon and was naturally unfathomably powerful. Ash hadn't been worried about the Pokemon or the egg, even with the air currents rocking the plane from time to time Ash knew it would a lot more than that to even scratch the egg, and besides, even if it cracked and the Pokemon hatched prematurely, it was close enough to hatching that it wouldn't make a difference, only that the Pokemon within would be around level 1 instead of level 5, which was the standard level for legendary Pokemon to hatch at, at least this particular legendary.

Ash had been holding onto this egg that his Mewtwo from the Decorola islands laid, knowing that it would hatch as a shiny Mewtwo but wanting to find a trainer for it, since he already had two of the most powerful Mewtwos in existence, he didn't need another one. He wasn't sure who he could possibly give it too, there were very few trainers, champion level or otherwise that could handle a legendary Pokemon, especially one as absurdly powerful and difficult to tame as a Mewtwo, which were known for being extremely powerful and aggressive fighters. Even at level 5, all Mewtwos were born with inherent abilities, including their infinite skill level in any and all fields of combat, their precognition and all their other psychic powers, their telekinesis, and a wide range of attacks including confusion, swift, miracle eye, shadow ball, barrier, reflect, aura sphere, and psychic, all of which they were capable of using even at such a low level, especially with a truly competent trainer raising them and training them.

The problem was, Mewtwos were capable of fending for themselves at birth, and all of them were literally infinitely intelligent, meaning they were smart enough to judge right away if the person that was receiving them was worthy of their power. If he was going to give this shiny Mewtwo away, it had to be to a person who knew a ton about Pokemon, legendary or otherwise. He could definitely handle having another Mewtwo in his collection, but he wanted someone else to know what it felt like to have such an awesome Pokemon in their roster. Only somebody experienced though, he couldn't have Mewtwo presented to a trainer who didn't know what they were doing, otherwise the legendary Pokemon wouldn't stay with them for long.

Shuffling around inside of his backpack, Ash's hand closed on the smooth, round stone that would make this Mewtwo's trainer super happy as he brought it up to inspect it. "Hey Ash, is that the Mewtwonite you had your Mew create for that egg's new trainer?" Brock asked out of nowhere, bringing Ash out of his reverie as the pallet town trainer stared at his friend with a mask of indifference.

"Yes it is, I've got to admit, I think the trainer I give this egg and this mega stone to will be really pleased, but I'm just not sure if there is anyone in Kalos that will be worthy of receiving this Mewtwo," Ash whispered uncertainly, looking at Brock as the 20 year old tried to think of somebody. "Didn't you say your oldest friend Serena was living in Kalos Ash? Why not give Mewtwo to her, I know legendary Pokemon are hard to tame but if she is anything like you that shouldn't be a problem for her right?" Brock suggested, and Ash furrowed his eyebrows in thoughtfulness.

"I'm not sure Brock, Arceus said that Serena hasn't even started her journey and that she would have to train by my side if she is to ever become my equal. I'm just not sure if this Mewtwo will take to her when she is a complete novice and I'm standing right there. Not to sound arrogant but I would seem like a much better choice to that Mewtwo than some greenhorn trainer it just met," Ash commented musingly, and Brock shrugged.

"I don't know man, I think you're way over thinking this, but if Serena can keep up with you while drilling the brutal slave driving you call training, then I think she would be worthy of Arceus itself," Brock smirked dryly, and Ash merely snorted as he reflected upon all the times Brock and Misty declined his offer to help train them and their Pokemon alongside his. Ash was okay with them taking it easier than him, since they weren't aiming for the top like he was, but that didn't stop him from drilling militant training sessions for all his Pokemon, giant, legendary or otherwise. His infinitely intelligent brain, along with his astounding ability to befriend any and all Pokemon as the Chosen One, allowed him to come up with effective training regimens for any and all of his Pokemon, legendary or otherwise, regardless of their typing, he found a way to train them all up to the monsters now sitting inside his belt.

He even found a way around the monstrous appetites of some of his Pokemon, namely his fighting types and his giant Pokemon as well as Snorlax, all of which had enormous appetites, especially his giant Dragonite. Certain berries, namely the enigma berry, were over-saturated with energy and were extremely filling to any Pokemon, even a single enigma berry could curb a Snorlax's appetite the moment it ate one, until the sleeping Pokemon needed to eat again of course. All it took was one or two enigma berries with a regular sized dish of food and even Ash's 150 foot tall Dragonite was full, perfectly satisfied by the meal.

On top of all that, Ash now had a Victini, which could create unlimited energy that caused any and all of his other Pokemon to be instantly satiated and caused their power levels to rise to infinite capacities, albeit temporarily, making the attacks, powers, and abilities of even the lowest level Pokemon unfathomably powerful. With Victini at professor Oak's lab, Ash had his Mew and Arceus to create such energy for his other Pokemon in case any of them needed a boost of truly epic proportions, and his Mewtwos and Lucario to use heal pulse to cure any and all injuries in an instant. His Raichu could power any electronic devices he may end up using and could also power entire cities if there was ever a blackout, and many other solutions only his own virtually omnipotent Pokemon could provide. On top of all that, his shiny Mew could use all of these powers and more, and Arceus was just all-powerful period, only limited by it's own self created power inhibitors.

His Alakazam could use it's limitless intelligence and it's own vast psychic powers to provide training for Ash in his own psychic abilities, it could provide insight, wisdom, and council that stemmed from years of training with his all-powerful father Red, the undisputed world champion soon to be dethroned by his own son. Ash knew much of the credit for the power he now possessed as a trainer, a psychic, and an aura master went to his dad, since Red had passed on his own limitless psychic powers and aura abilities to his son, both of which were awakened in his father as well, which was probably how he had known professor Oak had forgotten to get Ash a present for his tenth birthday and sent Raichu to cover for him.

In truth, Ash hadn't bought Oak's story about how he obtained that Raichu in a trade from his eldest grandson Blue Oak, a champion level trainer who had taken over the Viridion city gym and older brother to Daisy and Gary Oak. Defeating his champion level team was a big goal of Ash's, but even he would have a very difficult time defeating the former Indigo League champion, that is assuming he could beat them at this point. Blue Oak was a true Pokemon prodigy, having learned all there is to know about Pokemon from his grandfather at a young age, Blue had enormous natural talent, and had been Red's biggest rival throughout his journey through all the regions, the both of them having traveled the world and attaining absolute power as Pokemon trainers.

Ash was confident in his abilities, yet at the same time, he knew there was room for improvement and would not challenge either Blue or his father until his entire team had a stat total of infinity, with all their stats at limitless levels and all of their power levels at the maximum, optimum capacity. In other words, Ash wanted to become all-powerful, a god among Pokemon masters, the mightiest in the Omega Omnisphere just like the prophecy about the Chosen One said he would be, only then would he challenge them, and only then would he have a prayer of winning.

No matter what though, Ash was at the top of his game, but he knew he was getting off topic as the real problem lay in finding a trainer who could handle a Mewtwo, which not only was a very sought after Pokemon like any legendary, but was also shiny according to Arceus, who was pretty much all-knowing, and that made it all the more rare and valuable. Whoever took on the responsibility of training this Mewtwo would have to be able to protect it as well, and though Brock had suggested Serena, Ash wouldn't know she was good enough to handle it until he saw Serena again with his own eyes.

"Hey Ash, did you sleep well?" Alexa greeted with a yawn, having let Ash take the time to gather his thoughts about the egg and the Mewtwonite sitting in his backpack as Ash looked over at the dirty blonde beauty, her gray eyes shining as she smiled kindly at him. "Yeah, I slept okay, what about you?" Ash wondered, and Alexa's smile widened, confirming to Ash that she had a very pleasant sleep as well.

Raichu meanwhile, had jumped back onto Ash's lap and greeted him with a happy chirp of 'Rai," which Ash translated perfectly using his psychic powers, which gave him the ability to understand all forms of Pokespeech, along with many other limitless abilities. "Hey buddy, you sleep well too?" Ash asked as the large mouse Pokemon nuzzled his cheeks with it's own affectionately, answering the question by cuddling with it's trainer, it's weight nothing to Ash since the pallet town trainer had trained just as hard as his Pokemon all throughout his journey, earning him a very fit, strong, lean muscled body that admittedly attracted a lot of girls.

All his psychic and aura training alone had made Ash as hard as a rock, and his Raichu's weight, while significantly heavier than a Pikachu, was nothing compared to the 50 pound sand bags Ash dragged up and down hills, the boulders he rolled over sand, the drills he swam across lakes, and all the hardcore cardio workouts, aerobic, and anaerobic exercises he drilled nearly every day.

"Rai, Rai, Raichu," it cooed, and Ash smiled and ran his hand down it's soft furred back, earning a content sigh as Ash translated what Raichu was saying yet again, it's usual morning greetings and telling Ash it slept very well. Brock and Alexa were aware of Ash's vast powers, which he could use anytime anywhere, on an infinite level. According to Arceus, this version of the Pokemon universe was the mightiest one of all, containing within it Pokemon and humans who could use their powers in any universe and not just the one they dwell in.

Ash could control all the aura in the Anime omniverse and even the entire Omega Omnisphere beyond that, allowing him to tap into forces, essences, and powers beyond the confines of the Pokemon world, and so to could legendary Pokemon like Mew emulate any and all powers in the Omega Omnisphere on an infinite level, rendering it one of the totality's mightiest beings and making it nigh-omnipotent on a scale that was unmatched. Mews in this particular version of the Pokemon universe had a literally infinite arsenal of abilities at limitless levels, bestowing them with every variant of every power, even magic and mystical omnipotence, totality manipulation or the power to completely control the Omega Omnisphere and transcend everything in it, control any and all forces, create any new abilities it wanted with absolutely no limits, create, control, and delete any and all super powers on a limitles level, create absolutely anything from out of nothingness, warp reality on any scale and to any degree, possess limitless shape shifting powers making it totally omnifarious, and even tap into the purest form of omnipotence, enabling it to achieve absolutely everything and anything without justification, no matter how impossible or contradictory, like creating forces beyond infinity or existing outside of the Omega Omnisphere, concepts that were completely alien to any and all minds of any and all species.

In short, Ash's Mew wasn't just among the most powerful Pokemon in all of totality, it was one of the most powerful beings period, it's only weaknesses the one's it created for itself much like Arceus, like the type match-up effects or the fact that any being on it's level of power could destroy it, which there were more of than Ash probably knew, especially when considering something as infinitely vast as the Omega Omnisphere.

Ultimately, Arceus and Mew were the two most powerful legendary Pokemon ever, even more so than Mew's clone Mewtwo, which had all kinds of absolute powers, limitless capabilities, and the same limitless potential as any Pokemon, but nowhere near as many powers as either Mew or it's creator Arceus, who designed Mew to be unstoppable but pure of heart, meaning like any Pokemon it was a truly benevolent creature.

That being said, Mewtwo was strong enough to hold it's own against even the most absurdly powerful enemies, it's abilities granting it enough sheer raw power to stalemate with any opponent, even nigh-omnipotent or omnipotent opponents. Ash's Mewtwos were also the only known legendary Pokemon capable of mega evolution aside from Latios and Latias, which he also now had in his possession and fully intended to mega evolve as well.

With Pokemon like Mew, Ash knew he could create all the mega stones he wanted for all the Pokemon capable of mega evolution, but he didn't see the fun in that when the Kalos region was simply waiting to be explored and relieved of all the stones it had. It actually gave Ash all the more reason to travel the region, even if having virtually unbeatable powers as a trainer made it extremely difficult for him to find a suitable challenge to surmount. Ash knew he was about as close to invincible as a Pokemon trainer could be, and Mewtwo's speech about the pointlessness of an all-powerful existence made a lot of sense to him now.

That's why he only had Mew create mega stones for his Alakazam and his Mewtwo from new island and Mt. Kayna, as well as the Mewtwonite for the Mewtwo he intended to give to whoever could handle it, because he wanted to make the effort to obtain the mega stones himself without any cheating shortcuts. Using his Pokemon's powers in moderation would help make things a little more interesting for him, though Arceus's warning about the dark force kept plaguing his thoughts, the one that made the famous XD0001 project Team Cipher in the Orre region had created look like a diaper daddy party.

At least there was one thing he didn't have to worry about anymore though... Team Rocket. Those three clowns who had for years tried to steal his Raichu and other Pokemon had finally been let go by Giovanni, who called them every insulting name in the book before firing them for their incompetence. Realizing there was no chance of changing their boss's mind and getting back into the group, Team Rocket finally ditched their motto, their uniforms, and their desire to steal other peoples Pokemon and really turned it around.

Last Ash had heard, they were making a bloody fortune with their fashion designs, which was actually just one of their many talents. They had opened restaurants all around the world, became fashion models, movie stars, and just became big time celebrities, much to the surprise of Giovanni of Team Rocket, who they didn't need anymore as they became three sensational superstars and became almost as famous as Ash's father, who remained perhaps the most famous person in the world today. That didn't stop Team Rocket from helping out when Ash and co could really use it, like when Team Galactic was threatening Sinnoh, or Team Plasma was trying to take over Unova. Their Meowth had evolved into an insanely powerful level 100 Persian, still retaining it's ability to talk as the rest of their Pokemon also grew by leaps and bounds from years of chasing Ash and his Pokemon. They had been fired just before Ash's arrival in Sinnoh, so they took some time to do a little soul searching and voila, they had become the golden hearts he knew they always were deep down.

Ash had never found Jessie, James, or Meowth to be bad people, they just made bad choices sometimes and got caught up with the wrong people in their desperation to make a name for themselves, to actually matter. He was very happy for them and their achievements, and grateful for their help in disbanding both Team Galactic and Team Plasma, not that they didn't help Ash even when they were on Team Rocket. All and all, not bad for a trio of troublemakers who always blasted off in style, but never gave up. Their devotion and hard work was finally being appreciated, as it bloody well should be, especially considering how determined they were to please Giovanni. That passion and absolute refusal to give in when faced with a seemingly impossible task would take them far, he was sure, and he was glad Giovanni got a taste of just how 'incompetent' they really were after he fired them and they bounced right back up.

Ash was neither stupid nor naive, he knew the world wasn't black and white and that certain people were despicable bastards who needed to be put down like a rabid Houndoom. During battles with teams like Team Galactic and Team Plasma, the entire world was at stake and needed heroes who were willing to go to war and do whatever it took to save it from destruction. He knew what had to be done if there was no other way, but so far he had managed to help disband every evil organization without killing anyone, and he didn't intend to break that streak if he could help it.

Brock and Alexa both sat beside him in silence, and Raichu was back in Ash's lap as he put his backpack down between the seats. Ash considered calling the flight attendant over and asking her for some breakfast. Since it was still somewhat early in the morning, he might have enough time to eat something before their arrival in Kalos later on, but he knew they were close now.

The plane had begun descending from it's original height in the sky, which was above the clouds at over thirty thousand feet, now climbing steadily downward as the region of Kalos drew ever nearer. Ash couldn't see much of anything, since the windows were tiny and Alexa had taken the seat by their window, but he could feel the wind picking up and rocking the plane as they closed in on their destination, his champion level team of Pokemon growing excited in their Pokeballs, master balls, and ultra balls and Raichu sitting up on his lap with it's long, thin ears perking up and waggling around.

His stomach growling, Ash willed back his hunger as he decided to wait until their arrival to eat, Brock and Alexa sitting back in their seats as the rocking from the plane forced them backwards. Ever since Helioptile had shocked Brock for hitting on it's trainer, the former gym leader and Pokemon doctor in training had given her a wide berth, having been surprisingly well behaved despite all the good looking women aboard the plane, probably fearing Ash's wrath since he knew the proud son of Delia Ketchum wouldn't take any of the older boy's perverted advances too kindly.

Being the only son of a mother who raised him with strong moral values, Ash had grown up a lot in a short amount of time, and Delia taught him all the good things, from proper table manners to treating women and all people in general with respect. She taught him right from wrong, and to treat others the way he would want to be treated, and so at a young age, Ash was the most intellectually and emotionally mature boy in Pallet Town, a fact that earned him the trust of nearly every kid aside from Gary, including Marina, Jimmy, Leaf, and especially Serena.

Despite Gary's arrogant, smug attitude, Ash was seen as the leader of their group of friends, and everybody looked to him for advice when they didn't know how to deal with something. Having been giving his friends helpful advice since he was a small child, Ash knew how to treat a lady, which was what actually allowed him to keep his friendship with May and Dawn after gently rejecting both girls when they admitted to having crushes on him.

Raichu often referred to him as a lady's man, but Ash was only ever interested in one particular female, at least in the romantic sense. He often questioned his reasoning for waiting to reunite with Serena before he became engrossed in a relationship, wondering if she was doing the same by waiting for him, or if she had simply given up on him. Ash may have been loyal and devoted, but even he had to wonder why he spent his entire journey waiting for someone who might not even love him back, why he had rejected Dawn and May alike when the both of them could had given him the opportunity to involve himself in a loving kinship, but no, he had to wait for Serena and risk being a total noob at anything romantic when he did see her again.

That said, even though he had never given anyone else a try, he didn't want to take the chance of ending up with anyone else when he didn't feel that way about them. If he simply used them to gain experience in relationships and then broke up with them, he'd have no friends left and a lot of angry, resentful girls after his head, girls he had a great deal of respect for and didn't wish to hurt. So no, he stayed platonic with all of them, even if it made him a total rookie in the romantic department, he wouldn't use Dawn or May to such an end, he cared about them too much to hurt them like that. Also, what if he went along with it anyways and ended up falling for either Dawn or May instead. That thought scared him, and as much as he loved Serena, he knew it wouldn't be completely out of the question for him to develop feelings for any of the other girls he traveled with so far, heck even Iris wasn't as annoying during the last few months of their journey together, and mostly called him a kid for their mutual amusement and as a joke.

He couldn't take the chance of allowing another girl to win his heart, he had been through too much with Serena to replace her with anyone. He would allow no other girl to have him, Serena and Serena alone was the one he wanted to be with, and even if she didn't feel the same way, he vowed to always love her unconditionally.

"Man, Pokemon training was a lot easier when I wasn't this into girls," Ash murmured quietly, though Brock still heard him as he smirked at the younger trainer. "I would ask how you do it Ash, but given the way you look and the way you treat women, I'd say that pretty much answers my question right there," Brock praised, taking a moment to bow mockingly to Ash as though he were worshiping a king who had 5 beautiful queens by his side.

Ash merely rolled his eyes as Alexa took the time to speak her mind to Brock. "You know pal, you could learn a lot from Ash on how to treat a lady. Instead of your perverted declarations of love, why not try acting like a gentleman and getting to know someone before you decide to ask them out?" she demanded crossly, and Brock looked like he had been punched in the gut as Ash merely looked indifferent, his Raichu snickering at the scene unfurling before it.

"Well, I mean, of course Ash is doing well with his approach, but there is more than one way to win the affections of a cute girl," Brock replied uncertainly, sweat dropping as Alexa huffed indignantly and Helioptile glared daggers at the former Pewter city gym leader.

"I just feel like being upfront about my intentions right from the very start saves a lot of time, effort, and money, and if some women can't appreciate my style, well that's their prerogative, but don't blame me for seeming perverted or horny, all guys ultimately feel this way deep down and I think if you stop for a moment to think, even you will agree with me Ash," Brock stammered as Alexa's eyes softened a bit, realizing Brock may have had a point as Ash smirked for the first time, his emotionless mask vanishing for the time being.

"It wasn't that we thought you were a pervert Brocko, just that you have some seemingly perverted tendencies, but maybe you're being a little too upfront bud, why do you think you've been rejected time and time again, women like men who are honest about their feelings yes, but they also appreciate a man who is capable of playing hard to get and doesn't scream desperation. Instead of barreling in and hitting on every woman you meet, try playing it cool for a change, be aloof, like you're mildly interested but are willing to act indifferent. Play with them a little, women like men who are confident, sure of themselves, and not desperate at all. If you just be yourself like you are around me and show them who you really are, I'm sure you'll be shocked by the results," Ash advised him, and Brock scratched his chin in thoughtful musing before he finally smiled at his infinitely smarter and wiser best friend and nodded in understanding.

Ash and Raichu grinned inwardly, realizing that Brock was taking their advice seriously and that they could expect their old friend to be taking what he said to heart. It was refreshing to know that he could change Brock's entire approach when trying to land a date with just a few simple words, but such was the strength of their friendship. Brock knew when Ash had something important to say, and though he didn't always agree with Ash's old fashioned tastes in romance, he did have great respect for his approach, and had really toned down his perverted tendencies in recent years, though Alexa had been a slight lapse in Brock's hard work at taking all the advice Ash had to offer.

Knowing he had almost successfully rid his most constant traveling companion of his bad habits, Ash grinned like an idiot as the voice of the pilot rang through the intercom, getting everyone's attention. "Attention all passengers, we have arrived in Kalos and are landing in Lumiose city, please fasten your seat belts during our descent and thank you for flying with the Kanto Airline today. Please do not leave your luggage or your Pokemon unattended, have a good day," and with that, the intercom turned off and the plane began to steadily rock and shake as everyone did as instructed and buckled up.

Knowing their arrival in Lumiose city was immanent, Ash and his friends buckled up and awaited the landing as the champion level trainer's mind whirled with questions. He had agreed to Alexa's suggestion to come with her to Kalos, and battle her sister the gym leader of Santalune city first, but there was another reason he had left his mother's house yet again to continue traveling... Serena was in this region. Finally, after such a long time, he was closer to her than he had been in over 9 years, and he remembered how hard it was watching her leave the first time. Now, the thought of reuniting with her after all this time had caused a large hole in his heart to be filled in at long last, a void he carried within his very soul ever since her departure, which had been the single hardest day of his entire life, even with all the other crap he had been through on his long, perilous journey across the entire world.

Thanks to his psychic powers, Ash was able to sense that his greatest adventure yet was still ahead, and he happily anticipated it while at the same time fretting over the future, and what he would do once his journey was over and he had literally traveled the world. Not knowing the answer, Ash decided to just quell his uncertainty and his fear of the unknown and focus on the positives, like the fact that he could quite possibly reunite with his oldest and closest friend, the girl he had been in love with before he even knew what love was. He knew it was cheesy, but he felt like he had always been in love with Serena, even before he met her, and the thought of seeing her again, of seeing how much she may have changed over the years, both enthralled and terrified him. One thing was very clear though, even through the haze of emotions clouding over his mind and his heart, which was pounding incessantly in his chest, his journey through Kalos would be an unforgettable experience. He eagerly anticipated his arrival and the start of a new journey that held the promise of new friends, new rivals, and the key to infinite power, power he would unlock within his Pokemon through the many mega stones scattered around the earth, when he became the most powerful trainer in the Omega Omnisphere itself and proved that nobody in the totality of existence was superior to him!

XXXXXXXXXXX

While Ash was awaiting his arrival in Lumiose city, the small village of Vaniville town was beginning to stir as the sun rose above the treetops of the surrounding forests, bathing all of the small settlement in a warm, golden glow as Pokemon and people alike rose from their beds to start their day, with one exception.

17 year old Serena Bellerose was due to start her training with Ryhorn, but as usual she wasn't an early riser, and tended to sleep in no matter how many times her mother sent Fletchling up to wake her in the usual dramatic fashion.

"Serena, time to get up," her mom called, and Serena barely registered her mother's voice as she whispered an "okay mom" half asleep. She was just settling underneath her comforters for a few more minutes when... PECK.

Screaming aloud as Fletching retreated from her sharply rising form, Serena was wide awake now as she glared daggers at the tiny robin Pokemon, who stood there smiling up at her apologetically. "I told you a million times not to wake me up like that!" Serena exclaimed in a loud shout, attempting the catch the nimble bird Pokemon as it dodged her every attempt with practiced ease, laughing at her as it retreated from her room and flew down the stairs towards the kitchen, where her mom was just making breakfast.

"Serena come on, we have Ryhorn racing practice today," her mother Grace yelled up the stairs, as Serena groaned inwardly, still in her pink pajamas and cringing at the thought of the impending calamity that was her mother's training for her. "Coming..." Serena shouted back, and she sighed hopelessly as she hurried to get dressed in her training outfit, did her long, lustrous honey blonde hair in a simple pony tail, and walked leisurely from her room and down the stairs, not in any hurry to start her training for the umpteenth time, even though Ryhorn racing was most definitely not what she wanted to do.

"There you are, now come on, hurry up and eat breakfast, we've got a long day ahead of us," Grace said once Serena filed into the kitchen, took her plate of blueberry pancakes and sat down forcefully at the kitchen table, her sapphire eyes reflecting her pensive mood. Truthfully, she'd much rather hang out with her friend Shauna then spend the day practicing for a career she wasn't even interested in, but as usual, her mother didn't take any of her thoughts and feelings into consideration and only thought about what she wanted for her daughter.

Serena and her mom had been suffering a strained relationship for the last 9 years, ever since that horrible day she wished she could forget about but just couldn't. This rift that had formed between them when her mom selfishly decided to arbitrarily move all the way to the other side of the globe without even asking how Serena felt about it had never been fixed even after all this time. It wasn't that she didn't love her mother, or that her mother didn't love her in return, but sometimes it felt like her career as a Ryhorn racer was more important to her than her daughter's well being.

As she sat at the table across from her mom eating pancakes, Serena couldn't help reflecting on the past 9 years she had been living in Vaniville town. She had wanted to travel abroad and begin her Pokemon journey when she was 10, having been secretly planning to board a plane to Kanto and travel with a certain long lost friend of hers, but those plans had not come to pass because her mother didn't want her to go, saying how dangerous it was for her to start a journey all alone, and how big and potentially hostile the world could be.

So while everyone else was starting their journies at ten years of age, Serena, Shauna, and Calem were stuck in Vanville town with next to nothing to do, the other two only sticking around for Serena's sake, something which she was very grateful for but didn't want her friends to not go out on their journeys because of her. Both Shauna and Calem were adamant about sticking with her though, and Serena realized that at least one part of her life didn't suck, and that was the wonderful friends she had made here.

So Serena stuck around in Vaniville town, eagerly awaiting her 18th birthday, when her mom said she would be allowed to travel whether she wanted her to or not, since by then Serena would be a legal adult and be allowed to live on her own in accordance to the laws of the Kalos region. Of course, most trainers were treated as unofficial adults at the age of ten, but didn't gain all the rights of a full fledged adult until they were eighteen, like the right to drink alcohol, to get married and have kids, as well as live on their own.

With her 18th birthday being tomorrow, Serena's mom had made the call to professor Sycamore to have a Pokemon brought to her daughter, realizing she couldn't stop her now that she was legally entitled to her freedom, but Serena still couldn't help resenting Grace for keeping her prisoner here all these years.

Not that the time wasn't well spent, whenever Serena wasn't training with Ryhorn or hanging with her friends, she was pouring over the hundreds of Pokemonology books she had collected over the years, studying every branch, every field of knowledge where Pokemon was concerned, even the advanced research materials only Pokemon researchers seemed to understand most of the time, but Serena understood everything just fine.

She knew pretty much every dry fact about Pokemonology, how to raise, breed, train, and catch Pokemon, all the various berries, items, and food she could buy for all types of Pokemon. She studied the type match-up system very extensively, along with every Pokemon type and every Pokemon species in existence, even extinct and legendary Pokemon, everything she could find on the subject of Pokemon, no matter what field of knowledge, she read and absorbed enormous information, all in preparation for her impending journey.

After 9 long years of constantly amassing knowledge on all things Pokemon, Serena knew almost as much as any Pokemon researcher. Calem had often called her a walking Pokedex, and she realized he was probably right, after her many years of devotion, study, and hard work, Serena had become a walking, talking, human encyclopedia. She knew enough to get by in her training, and that was what mattered to her.

She wasn't sure what she wanted to do with her life, but battling gym leaders, competing in the Pokemon league, and becoming a champion level trainer would open up a lot of doors to Serena, who valued things like fashion, appearance, and making a statement. Serena had been wanting to make her debut in a Pokevision video ever since she contemplated her journey, and aside from taking the gym challenge and becoming the best trainer she could be, she also wanted to make a certain ebony haired trainer proud of her, and she smiled inwardly for the first time as the thought of her best friend Ash Ketchum ran through her mind.

_'Never give up until the end_,' she remembered fondly, a saying that had been her and Ash's catchphrase for years while they played together in the forests surrounding Pallet town and Ash taught her the meaning of really living. He would always get her to do something fun, something different or exciting she would have normally been too scared or too embarrassed to do on her own, but he always had a way of bringing out her fun, adventurous side, believing in the philosophy that a person only lived once and if they didn't take every opportunity to enrich the quality of their lives, then they would live with regrets forever more.

So Serena climbed trees, went mountain climbing, rode bikes, and just all around had a great time with the best friend she ever had or would ever had, realizing that ultimately Ash had been right. Life was too short to live with regrets or with anything holding her back, and so she held onto that philosophy almost as fiercely as she clung to the handkerchief tied around her wrist, a momentum of the greatest, most iconic moment of her life... the day she met him.

Ever since she moved away, Serena had been unable to let go of him, even going as far as trying to date some of the nicer guys who lived in town, but nothing and nobody could make her forget that goofy smile or those unusually calculating and intelligent, amber eyes. Even Calem, who had been the only guy she had managed to date for more than a week without something going wrong, had been unable to make her let go of Ash, and so she waited patiently for her journey to begin so she could set out and find Ash for herself.

'_I wonder how he's doing these days, and if he's become the ultimate trainer he always said he would_,' Serena thought with a blush, remembering how Ash would always swear upside down and backwards that he would become the greatest there ever was or ever would be, even greater than his father, who many believed was an all-powerful trainer with champion level Pokemon of literally infinite strength.

Somehow, knowing who Ash's father was made Serena faithful in the boy's natural talent, and she was confident he would go far in the field of Pokemon mastership. She hated living in Kalos for yet another reason, there was next to no news on what was going on in the other regions aside from Unova and Hoenn, and she hated not knowing how he was doing or where he was on his journey, but she hoped beyond hope that his travels would eventually bring him here, to her second home.

Her pancakes were delicious as usual, but Serena took her time eating them as she continued to ponder everything that had transpired over the last 9 years, which was a long time to hold onto the memory of someone without drifting apart from them. Serena knew most people would have let go of such memories and their friendship with someone, but as Ash said to her before they parted ways, '_true friendship never dies._'

Those words had an even bigger impact on Serena's life than his other catchphrase, which was to never give up no matter what. She knew now that those words were true, and no matter what happened or who she befriended on her journey, Serena vowed to always cherish and treasure her friendship with Ash, because even after 9 years, she knew they would always be best friends forever.

"Hurry up and eat Serena, I've got a lot to teach you and little time to do so," her mom stated impatiently, and something in Serena snapped, as the years of putting up with her mom's training sessions, her selfish love for her career, and her lack of empathy where Serena was concerned all came bubbling to the surface.

"Maybe if you would have stopped to actually pay attention to me instead of your selfish desire to make me into a Ryhorn racer like you, you would have realized that I hate Ryhorn racing!" Serena shouted angrily. She rarely got angry, but when she did you bloody well knew it, and she was terrifying to behold in this state.

To say her mother was shocked by Serena's outburst would have been an understatement, she was positively gobsmacked. "Serena I... If you hated it so much all along, why did you wait until now to say it?" she couldn't help but wonder, deeply saddened as Serena took a moment to gather her thoughts and drew a slow breath to calm herself down.

"I assumed it was obvious. Mom, Ryhorn racing is your passion, and that's great, but it's just not for me. It's not that I hate the Pokemon itself, I just don't like racing on it. I'm going to be eighteen tomorrow, and I've made it clear I'm starting my own journey whether you want me to or not. Maybe then I'll figure out what I want to do with my life, but know this, I will not be a Ryhorn racer," Serena admitted, feeling some of the pent up tension loosen up a little inside her, relieved she had managed to get that off her chest, even if it was a small matter compared to the other issues she had with her mom.

Grace considered her daughter for the longest moment, and Serena waited on baited breath as her mom sighed in resignation. "Very well, if you really don't want to pursue Ryhorn racing as a career, then I won't force you to," she said, and Serena was so pleasantly surprised, she put her fork down, walked over to her mom's side of the table, and threw her arms around her.

Grace looked surprised, but returned the embrace as she hugged her only daughter for the first time in so many years, feeling like she may have regained some level of Serena's trust. After they pulled apart, Serena felt happier than she had in years, and she finally felt brave enough to address all the issues she had with her mom, realizing that if they didn't come to some understanding on all of their problems, Serena may never walk through the front door again when she left on her Pokemon journey.

After she sat back down on her spot at the table, Serena gazed intensely at her mom, and Grace tensed as she realized there was more that needed to be said. "Mom, before I head off tomorrow, we seriously need to talk..." Serena started, and Grace nodded as tears filled her eyes. "Serena, just tell me one thing for now... will I ever see you again?" she asked, surprising Serena for the second time that day. She supposed her mom would feel like that, considering all the unresolved tension between them, and for the first time in years, Serena felt like she could have a proper discussion with her mom regarding her feelings.

"That depends, are you going to welcome me home as my mother, or just as a woman who happened to raise me?" Serena replied questioningly, and Grace smiled with tears in her eyes. "If you ever come back, I'll welcome you home with open arms Serena. I know I haven't made the best choices where your upbringing is concerned, but I'd like the chance to make it up to you, if you'll let me," she whispered imploringly, and after taking an agonizingly long time considering her offer, Serena nodded with a teary eyed smile of her own.

"Then of course I'll come back, but you have to understand, it may take a while for the bitterness I felt towards our moving from Kanto to wear off. Now let's finish breakfast so we can talk, we haven't had a proper talk in so many years I don't even feel like I'm your daughter at times," Serena admitted ruefully, as Grace stared at her with shame, realizing it was her fault Serena had felt so resentful, all because she was selfish and dragged Serena to the other side of the world with her, all for the sake of her career.

"Very well, I've been dreading this day, but if we ever want to have a proper mother-daughter relationship ever again, and if I care about you at all, then I have to do this. Alright Serena, we'll talk... about everything," Grace promised as she and Serena finished their breakfast and headed to the living room after clearing their dishes to begin the discussion that hopefully would mend fences and bridge the abyssal gap that had formed between them.

As they talked well into the afternoon, Grace couldn't help feeling like she had failed as a mother, listening to all the feelings Serena dealt with while living in Vaniville town, like how she would cry herself to sleep at night, just wishing for the comfort of her best friend, longing to see him again with such pain and agony. For the first time in forever, Grace listened to and considered her daughter's feelings for a change, and she hoped that they would be able to move past this some day, even if it took some time. Despite her selfishness and her tendency to ignore her daughter's thoughts and feelings in favor of the fact that she was the grown-up and thought she knew better, Grace had always loved Serena, and she longed to prove it, lest she lose her forever. To Serena however, talking about her bottled up emotions was extremely cleansing, and maybe she was being a tad too optimistic, but for the first time she was convinced she and her mother could look past all this some day, and that the both of them would be able to have a genuine, loving relationship as a mother and daughter should. Realizing her journey began tomorrow, Serena was glad she got all this off her chest before it was too late, and as she talked, one thought ran through her mind. '_Don't worry Ash, I'm coming, I know it's later than we planned but I swear, no matter what it takes, we'll get to travel together_.'

After the talk, Serena felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her chest, and she stared into her mother's tear stained face, realizing her venting all this time must have taken it's toll on the woman. "Anyways, I know you didn't mean to put your career before my well being, and I forgive you mom," Serena sighed with a hint of finality, and Grace's smile widened as she and Serena got up and embraced each other for the second time that day. "Thank you, and I promise I will make it up to you. Just promise me one thing while you're on your journey... Be careful sweety and if you meet a cute boy along the way... always use condoms," Grace smirked, snickering slightly at the last part of her sentence as Serena blushed crimson. "Mom! How in the world did this suddenly become a joke?!" Serena screamed in utter humiliation, and her mom burst out laughing. "I'm sorry sweety, I just couldn't resist, anyways, all humor aside, I want you to be careful. Also whatever you do, choose your first Pokemon wisely, because your first Pokemon is always the most crucial choice a trainer can make in his or her life," Grace responded, and Serena nodded in understanding before hugging her mom one last time and heading for the front door.

"I'm going to see Shauna, we had plans for this evening," Serena shouted behind her as Grace waved her off with a smile, and Serena disappeared behind the closed front door with a considerably lighter heart than she ever had before. Miracles really did happen it seem, she had plucked up all her courage and confided everything in her mom, and that had paid off in a big way. Now she was on her way to starting her journey, almost 8 years after the fact, and she lovingly anticipated her eventual reunion with Ash. It was only a matter of time, and Serena was hell bent, nothing would stop her from seeing him again. As she sprinted her way up the streets to Shauna's house a few doors up, she felt absolutely giddy inside as she realized she was free, free to do whatever the hell she wanted from here on out, free to board a plane all the way to Kanto if she so chose, free to find Ash no matter where he happened to be in the world. The thought of freedom was both frightening and exciting to contemplate, and with a manic burst of energy and happiness that belayed her earlier disposition, Serena arrived at Shauna's house and rang the doorbell to share the news with her second closest friend in all the world, second only to Ash himself.

_Author's Note: And there you have it folks, another chapter done, another piece of the puzzle filled in. This chapter is dedicated to Lord of the Dark and the Hunt, who graduates on Monday, happy graduation my friend, and enjoy this chapter. I know that these chapters are smaller than the ones featured in APM, but this book will also be just as large in the end, with a larger number of somewhat smaller and more manageable chapters to contend with. Also, I'm aware that this fic depicts a very seemingly invincible version of Ash, and that is partially true, but while he may be unstoppable power wise, this story will be challenging him on a more emotional level than anything, and the main antagonist of this trilogy will actually be powerful enough to threaten not only Ash, but also the Omega Omnisphere as a whole. In other words, it will be a legendary Pokemon of infinite darkness, death, and destruction, which I think makes for one awesome fucking antagonist. Anyways, that's all for now, be expecting the next update relatively soon as well as a new chapter of APM, which will feature Ash and Serena's first date among many other important events. As usual, read, rate, and review, and I look forward to hearing your review Lord of the Dark and the Hunt, happy graduation man, and enjoy. Thomas is leaving the building, but first, a few teasers to read._

_XXXXXXXXXXX_

_It was a dream, it had to be a dream, yet no matter how many times Serena told herself this, he still continued to mirror her shell shocked expression as they gazed into each other's eyes for the first time in 9 long, agonizing years. She had known Trevor and Tienor would be there, in their little gathering in Aquacorde town, as well as Calem and Shauna, but of all the people she thought she would meet, she never expected to be staring at the best friend she left behind so many years ago, the friend she always hoped would come to Kalos first during his journey, find her, and travel with her like they had planned._

_Even though those hopes had quickly been squashed and Ash never came for her, she never stopped believing they would reunite, but even she never could have guessed that she would run into him here... or now at this very time and place. It felt so surreal that Serena wondered if she would wake up and it would all have been a dream, but if that was the case she never wanted to wake up again. Seeing that he still staring at her, frozen in shock, Serena struggled to gather her thoughts but only one coherent word managed to make it's way past the blockage of words and emotions clogging her mind and preventing her from speaking or even breathing for that matter. "Ash..."_

_XXXXXXXXXXX_

_They had done it, they had defeated Lasandre and managed to capture the Omnimalevolent Pokemon that only moments ago plagued the entire world with an onslaught of shadow Pokemon and it's own omnipotent powers of darkness and destruction, so then why did Ash feel like they weren't any closer to winning this war as they were when all this insanity began._

_The Pokemon in question, which had been dubbed the Chaos God by Arceus and didn't have any official Pokemon name, merely observed it's captors inanimately within the confines of it's bubble, a barrier encasing it's formless, ever-changing body, which gave off a massive swarm of shadowy tendrils not unlike Arceus's thousand arms. Both Ash's Arceus and Mew maintained their hold on it, their combined omnipotence keeping the Anti-God Pokemon in check, but unable to destroy it, since it was truly eternal in every sense and aspect, and was completely immortal._

"_There is no light in all of totality that can overpower the original darkness, not even the infinite light of the Supreme God and Creator and it's many alternate representations scattered across the countless omniverses. You are no match for my omnipresent evil. The power of the Anti-God is everywhere, I can feel it within your souls, within the dark type energy of Arceus's life plate, and even in the dark energy within all Pokemon like Yveltal, Darkrai, and all other dark type Pokemon across the entire Pokemon multiverse."_

"_Did you know that the Anime omniverse alone encompasses an infinite amount of dark matter and dark energy? Can you conceive the fact that the Omega Omnisphere itself was originally without light, that nothing existed except an eternal sea of perpetual darkness? No matter what you fools do you can't contain it. It's a supremely all-powerful force of nature... just like I am," the Anti-God Pokemon hissed, it's infinitely evil voice making Ash skin crawl as he, Serena, Brock, Clement, Bonnie, Shauna, and Calem stared at the Pokemon before them, all of them having worked together to bring down Lasandre and capture this menace, but none of them sure what to do now that they had their prisoner._

"_I suppose you fools think you've won, but that is not the case. I embody the other side of the coin, the perpetual conflict between all good and evil in the Omega Omnisphere, and no matter how advanced your technology, or how omnipotent your powers, you can't change that. I am eternal, the deepest essence of infinite darkness, oblivion, nothingness, chaos, and destruction... I AM the Anti-God, and I will destroy all life in the Omega Omnisphere..." It growled with apocalyptic finality, and Ash could've sworn he saw the mass of shadows form a face and smile momentarily before Arceus and Mew's barrier exploded and all hell broke loose on the ultimate scale._


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: Hey, back again with another chapter of The Omega Omnisphere's Mightiest Pokemon Master. I must say, I'm very pleased with how this story is turning out, and this chapter promises to bring forth lots of action, because as we all know, Ash's arrival in a new region is never without at least a little excitement and danger. Just know that I will be doing the Garchomp incident, but with several major deviations from canon, one of them being the fact that Team Rocket was not involved at all, and another one being the fact that Ash will be dealing with the situation in a much more intelligent manner than in the Anime, at least I like to think so. So be looking forward to that, plus who are those creepy red haired guys in the flashy white Team Flare outfits? Anyways, I think I've built up the suspenseful anticipation for this chapter quite nicely, and I'll be expecting all of you to shower me with reads, rates, and especially reviews. As usual, I don't respond to flames, and if I receive them I will heartily ignore them unless the idiot leaves their name, in which case I will have them banned from this site for all eternity. Good day my friends, and now, on with the story._

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, just this story, and I don't make any profits from this whatsoever. Rated for violence, epic battles, and coarse language._

_This story is dedicated to Lord of the Dark and the Hunt, enjoy this chapter my friend, and wishing you all the best in your summer._

Chapter 3: The Rampaging Garchomp, the Stylish Team Flare, and the Reunion of Best Friends

Ash's arrival in Lumiose city went without a hitch until the hyper beam destroyed the wing of the plane and the aircraft began hurtling towards the nearest skyscraper, threatening to kill every passenger on board as everyone became victims of mass hysteria and panic. Knowing there was no time to lose as the massive skyscraper of death drew ever nearer and the plane descended from the heavens like a Raikou in a bolt of lightning, Ash got to work using his unlimited telekinetic power to take control of the airplane. The entire exterior of the airborne transport glowed with a neon blue energy as Brock and Alexa merely stared at him in wonder, them and Raichu the only ones besides Ash who were completely calm.

"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!" a man screamed in absolute hysterics as the plane halted to a stop in midair, silencing everyone in the process as one of the passengers looking out the window noticed something amiss. "Hey everyone look, something is guiding the plane to safety," an old man with a Houndour asleep in his lap said as everyone bumped into and pushed past each other to get a look out the many windows beside each set of seats.

The entire atmosphere changed from panicky to surprised and pleasantly amazed in a split second as everyone seemed to realize the old man was right, none of them noticing the ebony haired trainer glowing with energy amongst them, or the infinitely powerful Raichu in his lap or the two human companions by his side, the both of them smiling serenely at Ash as though this was a normal, every day occurrence.

As Ash willed the plane back into the air and to safety, his precognition kicked in full swing, sensing an immanent threat as another hyper beam approached the aircraft with the astonishing power to destroy it in one fell swoop, but the master psychic quickly conjured a massive force field, shielding everyone from the blast. The hyper beam instantly ricocheted as it made contact with the plane, but Ash's precognitive senses alerted him to the danger as he took a hold of the orange beam of energy with his mind, keeping it from incinerating the building nearest the skyscraper, which they all promptly flew over, free from the most immediate threat, but another stray hyper beam was heading their way.

Focusing his powers to find the source of these random attacks, Ash determined that a very high level Garchomp was rampaging across Lumiose, and his heart pounded ceaselessly as chilling dread coursed through his veins. He turned to Brock and Alexa with wide eyed fear, "I've got to land this plane... and quickly. There is a level 100 Garchomp rampaging across the city, and a Pokemon that powerful can threaten not only Lumiose, but all of Kalos!" Ash whispered frantically, and Brock and Alexa nodded in perfect understanding, staring at him with grim determination, ready to help him out in whatever way they could.

Brock merely sat there shell shocked, unable to believe something this potentially bad was happening so soon into their journey through Kalos, but at least he had brought all of his strongest Pokemon with him in case Ash needed help, including his level 100 Steelix that evolved from the Onix his dad gave him and earned his gym a rep as one of the hardest gyms to conquer in all of Kanto, even for seasoned trainers who had collected all eight badges in Johto. The only gym that really surpassed his and Misty's was the one in Viridion city, and only when Blue was leading it, a champion level trainer of absolute power. All and all though, from what Ash had hinted to him so far, Brock knew he would have to be breaking out the heavy artillery, so he brought his Steelix, his newly evolved level 100 Blissey, his level 100 Croagunk who he planned on evolving into a Toxicroak, his level 100 Sudowodo, and of course his trusty level 100 Golem, who had evolved twice from his original Geodude and who had become a true powerhouse of his team. He was fairly confident that.. while nowhere near Ash's level of skill or power, he could give the Pallet town champion trainer some much needed backup if he ever needed it. Not that Ash needed too much of that these days, he was a one man army with his mastery of all psychic powers, and his 25 Pokemon of omnipotent power levels.

Alexa on the other hand, was petrified, especially since this was happening in her hometown. She wondered who's level 100 Garchomp it was, and why it was rampaging, the possible answers to that question scaring her more than any Pokemon ever could. Her Gogoat and her Noivern were strong, and they had only gotten stronger from all the training she had done with Ash during their journey through the Decorola islands, but they weren't that strong yet, and a Garchomp was a pseudo-legendary. At level 100, a pseudo-legendary was on par with some of the most powerful legendary Pokemon around, and became infinitely powerful. As she was well aware, a Garchomp at level 100 would have very near infinite attack and physical strength, rendering it capable of leveling entire cities to the ground if it was not stopped. If this continued, it could spell doom for Lumiose and cost millions of lives, which was a loss even someone like Ash wouldn't be able to deliver them from if they arrived too late.

Ash was in quite a jam, because while he stressed the importance of getting the plane to safety as fast as he could, the fact remained that it was slow work, requiring a lot of mental concentration. If he used too much power, the plane could break apart from the sheer force of his powers, or tear through buildings and people at hyper sonic speeds, or even blast the aircraft into space at near the speed of light. If he used too small an amount of his power, it would not be sufficient to keep the aircraft steady and airborne, so he had to have perfect control over his power at all times, otherwise everyone on board and a lot of the civilian population would be killed in the ensuing explosion. Regardless of how any misuse of his power killed everyone on board, Ash knew he had to be careful and imagine every detail, every delicate step of his telekinetic hold over the plane, which was the only thing keeping them from plummeting sacrilegiously to their untimely damnation.

It was one thing to wield infinite power, and another thing to control it perfectly every second he used it. He had to keep up his concentration and move the plane onwards at a steady, even pace, or everything in their path and inside their ride to Lumiose city would be utterly destroyed. His powers may have been on an infinite level, but that also meant they were even more difficult to keep under control, and focusing just enough of his telekinesis to keep the plane in one piece and floating towards the Lumiose airport at a safe, nonlethal pace was quite mentally taxing, but he managed somehow, even with his heart racing as panic began to settle in.

On top of that, he was also keeping his psychic, inner eye on all of Lumiose as the Garchomp continued to rage on and officer Jenny's police force tried fruitlessly to contain the situation. All and all, this was not one of Ash's better arrivals in a new region, but he would worry about that later, right now he was too busy keeping the plane safe and the Garchomp in check as he forged a telepathic link between him and it to try and understand why it was acting like this, and he was hit with a wave of intense emotions; panic, fear, and hysteria quite unconnected to his own feelings. The fear was for the safety of the citizens the Garchomp knew it was endangering yet couldn't help but lash out blindly. Ash sensed it's mind was under great stress, and it's body was being forced to act against it's will, via a strange device that radiated some kind of mind controlling energy.

Ash sensed that Garchomp was still in there somewhere, and he felt incredibly saddened and disgusted that somebody could put it through all of that, his telepathic link with Garchomp fading as he got all the information he needed. Apparently three trainers in strange white suits with an orange fireball insignia attacked Garchomp as a unit, attaching a powerful mind control device to it's neck and trying to strip it of it's free will. Unfortunately, the device hadn't worked as planned and Garchomp began rampaging across the city, under a great amount of pain and mental and emotional stress as the pure agony made it enter a sort of berserk-er state, forcing it to flee the lab of professor Sycamore and try to pry the machine off of it as it became enraged. Unfortunately, the machine was completely indestructible, and even Ash's limitless telekinetic powers were powerless to rip the device apart, so he'd have to find another way.

He considered teleporting everyone to safety and then teleporting the plane somewhere far away where it couldn't crash into anyone or anything, maybe the sun or some other place in outer space. Even if he managed to teleport both the passengers and the plane to safety in time though, there was still Garchomp to deal with, and teleporting that many people would require a lot of Ash's mental concentration and if he didn't make damn sure he got everyone off of this aircraft, he could end up missing somebody or he could end up leaving something else very important behind, like a person's limb or somebody's head, effectively killing somebody in the process. In short, instantaneous transport required absolute mental concentration, and since Ash was on board an airborne vehicle filled with people who were barely maintaining their sense of calm, a lot of things could go wrong. So even though it took longer, and even though Garchomp could have destroyed half the city by time he was done, Ash knew this was pretty much the only option he had. Still, all of this could have been avoided without that mind control collar, and he fully intended to pay that trio of _fuckers_ a personal visit and teach them a lesson they wouldn't soon forget.

Maintaining his grip over the plane, Ash tried to curb some of the anger he felt towards the three trainers in white, realizing it would not do to get emotional now when he was tapping into his limitless psychic powers, since that would cause his equally unlimited aura powers to flare up, and as he well knew, his aura and his psychic powers did not mix well together. That was one of the major problems Ash faced as an aspiring master of aura, aura taught you to let your emotions flow and let it guide you, whereas psychic powers required complete intellect and mental discipline, requiring next to no emotions at all and a completely analytical thinker. Being a psychic at heart, Ash knew his mastery of telekinesis and all other psychic powers clashed with the teachings of aura, and even though he had the power of aura at an all-powerful level and controlled all the aura, spiritual energy, and nearly all other forms of power and energy in the Omega Omnisphere, Ash still preferred the power of the mind over the power of the heart and the soul, which meant he would never be a true master of aura.

All the years he trained under Alakazam and the two years he had been training under Lucario, Ash had never found a way to synchronize his aura powers and psychic abilities, finding something that united both his mind and his heart and enabled him to master both of his limitless super powers as the godlike being many saw him as. Despite the fact that he wielded such devastating power, and despite the fact that he had Pokemon in his collection that were virtually omnipotent, Ash was _not_ a god, he could be hurt and killed just like any other human, and as long as he wasn't willing his psychic or his aura powers to manifest, he was just as limited as any human as well, a human with a body honed by years of traveling and hardcore training anyways. It was ironic, his aura powers were actually a much more powerful ability than his psychic powers, and they rendered him essentially omnipotent. If he wanted to, Ash could control the essence and the unlimited power of the Original One and every other representation of the Supreme Deity in the Anime Omniverse and beyond, controlling all the power in the Omega Omnisphere and becoming all-powerful. Unfortunately, he could also merge with the essence of each and every version of the Anti-God, even the Anti-God of the Omega Omnisphere, absolutely corrupting him and turning him into an omnimalevolent aura master. If he wasn't extremely careful about which Deities he borrowed power from and if he didn't pay attention, he'd become the single greatest threat to mankind the Omega Omnisphere had ever seen.

"Brace yourselves guys, we're almost at the airport," the old man said, loud enough to get everyone's attention as he kept them updated on Ash's progress. Even if they didn't know he was the one controlling the plane, Ash could sense that everyone on board was just grateful they weren't going to die, and knowing that pleased him immensely in spite of himself. He was aware of everything going on in the entire city, people were being evacuated but a lot of the buildings had collapsed and buried workers and people in it, and the firemen and officer Jenny's police force were doing their best, but unfortunately, their best wasn't good enough. A lot of people had been hurt, and to his absolute horror, there was already several fatalities. Ash could sense that Jenny was considering putting down the Pokemon if anybody else was killed, and he knew he couldn't let that happen as his heart rate accelerated even further and he had to fight back a panic attack. The flare of emotions from both himself and all the people he was telepathically reading screwed up his concentration, and with a sudden, heart wrenching jolt, Ash's psychic hold over the plane slipped and everyone screamed as the aircraft began it's descent earlier than scheduled and threatened to kill _everyone_ on board...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"You're shitting me Serena," Shauna gasped, her hand over her mouth, her green eyes alight with excitement as she and Serena sat at a restaurant in Aquacorde town, drinking a milkshake while the latter brought her friend up to speed. "I shit you not!" Serena promised her, shaking her head in the negative as both girls squealed in pure delight and excitement.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe your mom finally consented to letting you go on your journey, I seriously might cry! I guess she couldn't stop you though, I mean, you're eighteen tomorrow and therefore you'll be a legal adult," Shauna pointed out boisterously, as though it weren't already a well known fact. People stopped what they were doing to stare at the two of them, but Serena didn't care, nothing was going to rain on her parade today now that her journey would finally start.

"I know right?! I mean, she knows I won't take no for an answer now that I'm an adult, and she's already made the call to professor Sycamore to have a Pokemon sent along, and he's sending one later today! Also, my mom and I have come to a sort of understanding, man could this day get any better?!" Serena exclaimed joyously, and she chuckled when Shauna chugged her strawberry milkshake in one swig, smacking the glass down and rubbing her temples as she complained about brain freeze.

Serena burst out laughing at Shauna's display as the somewhat loud, stubborn, headstrong girl adopted a look on her face that put the face a Snorlax makes when having a stomach ache to shame. "Well, that's what you get for chugging it so quickly Shauna," Serena giggled, and Shauna nodded quickly as the pain seemed to subside and her friend's face became more relaxed.

"I just can't believe it, if you're leaving on your journey, there isn't really any reason for me to stick around either. Oh man, wait till I tell Calem," Shauna shouted in exuberance, and Serena closed her eyes musingly as she thought about their mutual friend, the one person she had a relationship with in both of the two neighboring small towns that lasted more than a week. She never understood why, but she would always compare every guy she dated to Ash, and for some reason, she just couldn't seem to let go of her past friendship with him. She clung to the hope that seeing him again would help her to let go, live a little as the saying goes, but as long as he was out there, as long as there remained any regrets, any unresolved matters or feelings between them, Serena knew she would search for him high and low, far and near. She would journey to the ends of the earth and beyond to see him again, and when that happened, maybe, just maybe, she could get on with her life and the two of them could just agree to be really close friends.

Remembering what Shauna had said to her, Serena smiled in gratitude, feeling like Calem and Shauna were two of the best friends she could ever have hoped to have. They would never be able to replace Ash, nobody could do that if she was being honest with herself, but she definitely felt like Calem and Shauna were a very close second best. "Thank you for that by the way Shauna, you and Calem have always been there for me. Even when you were both given permission to leave on your journeys, you stuck around for me, and I just wanted you to know how much that, and how much you guys mean to me," Serena whispered adoringly, and Shauna rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, something she did whenever she was embarrassed, and something Ash used to do all the time for the same reason, so that similarity between them was not lost on Serena.

"Aw, it's no big deal Serena, you know that Calem and I both love you, we're like family at this point, three peas in a pod," Shauna admitted shyly, and Serena nodded as she ordered another milkshake for Shauna, paying for it herself as she began drinking her own, the sweet taste of vanilla ice cream filling her mouth as she sucked it back through a straw, pausing a moment to let her own brain freeze pass as she was hit with an ice cream headache not dissimilar to Shauna's moments ago.

Shauna laughed, "now look who's chugging back, and thanks for the second round Serena. Don't make a habit of it though okay. I know your family is well off but I can carry my own weight, and I don't like you spending lots of money on me, you don't have to do that you know," Shauna insisted, and Serena paused from her drink to gaze skeptically at her friend, who was now enjoying her second milkshake that day. "I don't spend that much on you do I?" Serena wondered, and Shauna raised an eyebrow. "Really? Serena, let me give you a list of all the expensive birthday and Christmas presents you've bought me over the years. For my sweet sixteen, you bought me a _freaking_ holo caster, do you have any idea how expensive those are?! Also, for Christmas last year, your mother had a party and made enough food for the whole town, and your Christmas present for me that year was a two hundred thousand Pokedollar gift card that can be used at pretty much every Pokemart, clothing store, and shopping mall in Kalos. Oh, and there was the time you bought Calem a bike for his birthday, the kind that can shift gears and travel across any terrain except deep water, and that's just the tip of the ice berg. I know your family is well off, but I wanted to make it clear you don't have to buy Calem or I off, we'd love you regardless of whether you're dirt poor or the richest girl on earth," she pointed out, and Serena shrugged while smiling graciously.

"Well I just figured you guys would like them, and I didn't buy you those gifts because I had to Shauna, I did it because I wanted to. My family has plenty of money to go around, and between the allowances my mom gives me and the money my father sends us from wherever he is, I have quite a bit of an income coming in, and mom mentioned that Dad was contributing to my allowance so I've got a little extra money to spend, it's really no big deal," Serena insisted, and Shauna frowned slightly at the casual mention of Serena's father, realizing that her friend rarely mentioned her dad a lot of the time and wondering if Serena had heard from him recently.

"Did you ever figure out why your dad bailed?" Shauna couldn't help but wonder, and Serena shook her head sadly, her expression downcast. "No, mom said he was a champion level trainer who was friends with the all-powerful trainer Red, but he never explained why he left, only saying that he needed to keep moving, though I never found out why. I don't know Shauna, I try not to think about it," Serena replied truthfully.

"Yeah, it must suck sometimes huh?" Shauna asked, stating the obvious as Serena smiled at her friend. "I envy you guys sometimes you know, my dad all but abandoned us, but you've got a father who loves and supports you and Calem's father was a champion level trainer who conquered the Kalos league and beat Diantha once upon a time, only to retire when he fell in love with Calem's mom, and Ash's dad was the most powerful trainer in the world," Serena admitted a little sadly, and even though she was blessed with many things in her life, the fact that her father was nothing but a distant memory still caused her heart to ache almost as much as the thought of Ash forgetting about her.

"Hey buck up Serena, you're leaving on your journey tomorrow remember, and as for Ash, who knows, you might run into him during your journey," Shauna stated, trying to remind Serena of the bright side as the honey blonde girl instantly recovered and regained her former bliss, her smile returning to her pretty face. "You're right Shauna, and I hope you're right about Ash to, because there was a lot of things left unsaid between us," Serena said.

"Yeah, so his father was Red right? That must mean there is a lot of natural talent in Ash's blood, who knows, maybe he is already a champion level trainer, maybe he can look after you during your journey," Shauna chuckled, and Serena huffed indignantly at Shauna's suggestion that she couldn't take care of herself, but knew her friend was only kidding so she quickly smiled again.

"At 17 years of age?! If that was the case, Ash would be the youngest champion level trainer alive today," Serena chuckled, wondering how her childhood BFF was doing in spite of herself. Back then, the two of them did everything together, and were inseparable. Serena longed for that companionship to return, to be held in his arms like they used to hug when they were children and she needed a strong shoulder to lean on, but people changed. She wanted so badly for him to still see her as his best friend, but maybe he had forgotten about her, maybe he was mad about her leaving so abruptly. In any case, Serena wanted to see him again _so_ badly, and she had the feeling her upcoming journey was going to change her life forever.

"You never know Serena, I mean, look at Cynthia, she became a champion level trainer by time she was only 16, and even now at 24, she's still the youngest of the regional champs. Diantha even is only 38, Lance is 40, Steven is 32, Wallace is 30, Alder is 58, and Red was 12 when he conquered the Indigo Plateau Pokemon league, beat his rival Blue, and became champion," Shauna said, interrupting Serena's train of thought as she tried to form a response.

"Yeah I know, but if Ash was already a champion level trainer, then we would have heard about it by now, wouldn't we?" Serena questioned skeptically. Shauna shook her head, "news of the other regions travels slowly in Kalos Serena, we're on the other side of the world, and Kalos is thousands of miles away from even Unova, which is a considerable distance from the other regions as well. So we're the last people to hear about anything going on in any other region, especially Kanto," Shauna reasoned out, and Serena supposed that made sense, even if it saddened her a little to feel so isolated from the rest of the world, from Kanto, and especially so far away from Ash.

Shauna grinned eagerly as she finished off her milkshake yet again, "hey Serena, speaking of Ash, can you pretty please tell me the story of how you met him again?" she whisper-shouted imploringly, causing Serena to almost choke on her milkshake as she stared at her friend in disbelief. "I've told you that story a million times, why are you so adamant about hearing it again?" Serena wondered, and Shauna's eyes sparkled with euphoria.

"Because, you're awesome at telling stories and that one is my favorite, the way you two met is just so sweet, so please, can you?" Shauna pleaded, giving Serena the Lillipup eyes as the honey blonde merely rolled her own. "Fine, I'll tell you yet again, it's not like you haven't heard this story before so it won't hurt to tell it again I suppose. Besides, between you and me, I kind of like having the opportunity to reflect on those times," Serena responded with a wink, inhaling deeply before setting her drink aside and allowing memories of simpler times when she and Ash were best friends to wash over her mind. With the mood set and her memories of him fresh in her brain, Serena began reciting the story from when she was only 6 years old with practiced ease, absentmindedly fondling the soft silky fabric of the handkerchief tied discretely around her wrist...

XXXXXXXXXXX

"_Hello, is anyone there?" Serena called out despairingly, not sure how something that was supposedly as simple as a scavenger hunt could lead to this but not wanting to stay out here, alone and scared, any longer than was necessary. 'Just great, I never wanted to come to this stupid camp and now I'm lost in the forests surrounding Pallet, what am I going to do?' she wondered inwardly as she trekked aimlessly through the brushes and brambles, the trees all close together and swaying with the breeze, the light of the afternoon sun blocked out by the thick, interconnecting tree tops, which resembled a massive green cloud above her with all the leaves. The sound of twigs, nettles, and other forest floor junk crunched beneath her feet as she heard a rustling sound from a nearby bush._

_Serena immediately froze, eyes wide with horror upon remembering how that rude camper boy Gary had mentioned to everyone that there was a wide variety of Pokemon in this forest, and she feared the worst as she attempted to back away, screaming aloud as the Pokemon jumped out and ran past her. She was so startled that she jumped back and attempted to run the other way, only to trip over a gnarled tree rot and scrape her knee in the process, watching the Poliwag run past her as though she wasn't worth eating._

_Serena's eyes filled with tears of sadness, loneliness, and frustration, her six year old mind imagining all sorts of scenarios where she would be lost in the forest forever and be forced to live in the wild amongst the Pokemon. She later learned that such thoughts were quite illogical and irrational, but still, she was only six years old, and she was lost in the middle of a vast forest. On top of her desire to just find her way back to camp, she had not only managed to get lost in this stupid bush, but now she had a scraped knee to deal with, and it bloody well stung. She had learned from certain Pokemon nature channels that the worst place to get a cut was in the forest, and she began crying as she imagined having to go to the hospital for a nasty infection in her leg, only to find out that she'd have to get it chopped off and have to spend the rest of her life either in a wheelchair or on crutches._

"_I never even wanted to come to this stupid camp anyways! MAMA!" she cried to the heavens, her voice carrying through the otherwise noiseless forest, the only sounds being the occasional bird Pokemon swooping overheard, the chirps of the Pidgy, and her own hammering heart. She turned her head sharply and her eyes widened in horror as the bushes in front of her began rustling again, realizing she couldn't even get up off the ground as she lay there helplessly underneath the cool shade of a tree, her knee throbbing as chilling terror turned her blood to ice._

_She almost cried out in relief when the rustling stopped and the head of a boy, one of the ones from camp, poked out from behind the bushes. "Poliwag, where'd you go?" he asked as he stepped out of the leafy brambles, not noticing her at first as Serena slowly began to realize her earlier fears were no longer a problem and one thought ran through her mind. 'Thank Arceus, I'm saved! I won't become some jungle girl, and I won't have to get my leg chopped off!' she exclaimed inwardly as the boy noticed her for the first time and she got her first proper look at him, ignoring the pain in her leg._

_Her breath hitched and caught in her throat momentarily as she got her first look at her savior, though she couldn't quite understand why. He was around her age, with unkempt ebony hair and shockingly intelligent amber eyes, and despite how young he was, he was remarkably athletic looking with a deep summer tan and a lean frame. She supposed he was handsome, but she was far too young to really appreciate just how good looking he was, though given the fact that he had just come to her rescue, she supposed she would have thought him dashing no matter what he looked like._

"_What are you doing there? Never mind, my name is Ash, what about you, what's wrong?" the boy inquired, now revealed to be Ash as Serena gazed down at her knee. "My leg really hurts," she cried, and she looked back up just in time to see his face filled with concern as he walked over to her. "Are you alright? Here, this should help," Ash whispered softly, drawing a handkerchief from his pocket and tying it tightly around her knee like a pressure bandage._

"_There you go, now let's see if you can stand up," Ash said, a kind, encouraging smile on his face as Serena tried to rise to her feet, only to fall back down as a slight stinging sensation shot through her knee. "Ow," she murmured lamely, though at this point she was deliberately over-dramatizing. She didn't know why, but she somehow enjoyed the fact that this boy was so caring and so worried about her, watching him fuss over her like this made her want to play around a little, to milk her injury._

"_That's a good look charm, pain, pain, go away," Ash stated enthusiastically, waving his arms into the air as Serena tried once again to stand up, a warm feeling inside her chest as she realized this was the first time anyone ever really paid attention to her. She didn't want this feeling to end quite yet, so she fell back down in the grass. "Ow, it's no use, I can't even get up," she cried, though her tears were mostly fake by now. She could tell right away that Ash was a very mature and intelligent boy, and wasn't falling for her theatrics. Nevertheless, he played along with a dashing smile as he offered her his hand._

"_Never give up until the end, here, take my hand," he insisted, a knowing smirk on his face as Serena blushed for the first time, though she did as he asked and took his hand. To her great surprise, he was even stronger than he looked, because he pulled her to her feet with ease, yet despite that, he was exceedingly gentle as she fell gracefully into his arms, the two of them now accidentally embracing one another._

_Serena's blush intensified as she pulled away, feeling her face and her entire body heating up as Ash gave her a goofy grin. "See, what did I tell ya... you stood up. I knew you could do it," he smiled enthusiastically, and he radiated so much positive energy that Serena couldn't help smiling inwardly as he took her hand once again, leading her away from the tree and the root that she scraped her knee on. "Anyways, let's head back to camp, come on,"Ash insisted, leading the way as his hand intertwined with hers, a tinge of rosy pink under her eyes as she realized this was the first time anyone had ever really given her attention. She smiled as the afternoon sun bathed them in it's warm glow, the edge of the forest now within sight, not sure what she did but having the distinct feeling she may have found her first friend ever here. She grinned at the thought, she had gone all summer without making a single friend, and now a boy no older than she was going to such lengths to see her safe and happy. The moment they finally arrived back at camp, the scavenger hunt well forgotten, one thought ran through Serena's mind. 'I'm never complaining about professor Oak's summer camp again.'_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shauna had hearts in her eyes as Serena finished her story for what seemed like the umpteenth time, and a single tear fell unnoticed in the honey blonde girl's eye as she reflected upon those times, swiping it away furiously before her astute friend could notice it. "Wow, I love that story, it really sounds like Ash knew how to treat a lady," Shauna cooed, and Serena chuckled at Shauna's display.

"Well, his mom taught him to treat everyone the way he wanted to be treated, and even though he inherited his father's ravenous appetite, Delia somehow managed to teach him proper table manners as well. He was the nicest, sweetest, most caring, most mature and intelligent boy I had ever come across, and he actually paid attention to me, even when my own mother wouldn't. Sometimes, it felt like he was the only real friend I ever had. I miss him Shauna, I miss him _so_ much, but I can't help wondering if he cherishes our friendship as much as I did, and I hope to Arceus above that he still remembers me somehow," Serena admitted, voicing her deepest concerns to Shauna for the first time, since she was leaving on her journey later that day, she knew she'd eventually run into Ash, and when she did, she prayed everything was as it once was.

Shauna gazed sympathetically at her, seeming to have lost all of her earlier humor and bliss from hearing Serena's story. "Yeah, it must be rough, thinking about your best friend, about meeting him once again, and wondering if he has changed so much that you won't even recognize him anymore. Serena, people change, so don't be too shocked if he's not the same boy you once knew," Shauna advised her, and Serena nodded, her eyes downcast as she tried to accept Shauna's words. Her friend was right, Ash probably wasn't the same boy she once knew, and she could accept that, but she hoped beyond hope that he still thought about her from time to time, that he still remembered her and treasured their friendship, and she pleaded with whatever gods might be listening that he wasn't angry at her for her abrupt departure from Pallet town. She had to force herself not to cry as the memory of the day she moved away flashed through her mind, but even after almost 10 years, it was still the hardest day of her life...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_After two and half years of spending time with Ash and living in Pallet town, Serena had never felt closer to anyone before, and at eight years of age, she wanted nothing more than to spend all the days of her life with him. Even when he left on his journey, the two of them agreed that they'd always be by each others side no matter what, no matter who else came into their life, they'd always be best friends forever. She had promised Ash this so many times that he believed her completely, letting her know in no uncertain terms how blessed he felt to have her in his life, but now all that planning, all their promises of forever and eternal togetherness, fell apart in one horribly traumatic day._

"_I'm so sorry Ash!" Serena sobbed, unable to keep from crying as Ash merely stared emptily at her, unshed tears in his eyes as they stared around at the inside of her house, which was quickly being emptied out by the Machoke moving team. Her mom had recently heard that the Ryhorn racing league had opened back up in Kalos, and now they were to move to the other side of the globe, never to see Ash or Pallet town again._

"_This can't be happening, Serena, please, tell me this is somehow a bad dream," Ash sniffed, closer to crying than she had ever seen him. Unlike her, Ash didn't cry, and he only really showed his emotional side when she was around. It wasn't that he didn't care about others, only that his intelligence and his unnatural fondness of Pokemon alienated him from other kids in Pallet. It also didn't help that Gary was a jerk and tried to pick the boy's confidence apart at every opportunity. Because of that, he buried his nose in books on Pokemonology, studying diligently, and she tended to ask him about what he was reading before insisting that he play with her in the forest, which he would always readily agree to._

"_I'm sorry Ash, but this is not a dream," Serena said, having clung to the same false hope that she was dreaming all last night while she tried to sleep, hoping she'd wake up and it wouldn't be her last night in Pallet. She had slept over at Ash's house, in Ash's room, on his bed while the sweet boy insisted on sleeping on the floor with a pillow and a comforter. He always treated her so well, and was sweeter to her than anybody else had ever been before, she wasn't ready to say goodbye, and to be honest she wasn't sure she ever would be._

_The last of Serena's mom's stuff had been emptied out of the house at that point, leaving her house completely barren as she and Ash stood there stubbornly, refusing to leave each others side until the Machoke team marched right back in with their stuff and Serena's mom came back in and said she had changed her mind, but such fantasies were but a pipe dream._

"_Well Ash... I guess this is it," Serena whispered with her eyes closed, and before she could stop herself she threw her arms around him, crying softly into his chest as he held her in a loving embrace for what might be the last time ever. Knowing that this may be the last time she ever saw him, Serena knew she couldn't let go, she would hold him for all eternity if she had to. Unfortunately, even eternity didn't last forever, and they pulled apart with great reluctance._

"_Serena... I'm... going to miss you so much," Ash sniffed, his body wrenching with what almost appeared to be sobs as Serena threw her arms around him once more, trying to reassure him that someway, somehow, they'd see each other again. Once he recovered and she pulled away, Serena winced as her mother called for her from outside in their car._

"_I'm sorry Ash, I have to go," Serena whispered, smiling through her teary eyes as Ash merely gazed at her, and as she turned around to leave she felt his hand enclosing her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. "Serena wait, before you go... I have something for you," Ash said as she turned around to face her best friend's heartbroken expression, only for Ash to press a small cloth into her hand and closing her fist around it._

_Serena's eyes widened as she glimpsed the very handkerchief that brought them together, and she stared back at Ash, dumbfounded. "I can't take this Ash, it's what brought us together, it symbolizes our friendship. You should keep it," Serena insisted, trying to hand it back to him, only for him to shake his head. "No, I want you to have it to remember me by. Serena, I don't need a piece of cloth to remember how much you mean to me, just promise me you'll never get rid of that cloth okay?" Ash assured her, and Serena nodded, smiling and crying at the same time as she tried to think of something to give Ash in return._

_An idea suddenly occurred to her, and she removed her straw hat from the top of her head, untying the pink ribbon from it and handing it too him. Upon seeing Ash's shell shocked expression, Serena giggled. "I remember you always giving me a hard time about wearing my hat all the time, so I thought that this ribbon would be a good way to remember me, keep it safe for me Ash, until we meet again," Serena stated adoringly, and Ash grinned in response._

"_I'll protect this ribbon and what it represents with my life Serena, I swear this on everything I treasure," Ash promised her, and a pleasant warmth spread through Serena's body as she heard him say these things. Upon hearing her mom honking the horn outside, Serena began to leave, stopping only for a moment to plant a chaste kiss on Ash's cheek, surprising him as he blushed profusely, forcing Serena to stifle one last giggle as he followed her outside._

_As they reached her mom's car, Serena turned around to face him one last time, in the two and a half years they'd known each other, Ash had become the most important person in her life, and somehow she knew that would never change, no matter who else she may end up meeting. "Will I ever see you again Ash?" she wondered, and her heart fluttered when Ash smiled and nodded. "Absolutely, this is only a temporary separation, and as the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Until we meet again however Serena, just remember, true friendship never dies, and can withstand any adversity, overcome any obstacle, and that's that. Just don't forget about me okay, as long as you cherish what we had, I promise the universe will find a way to set things right for both of us," Ash replied with a wisdom and intelligence that stretched far beyond his years. After spending so much time with Ash, Serena had a very precocious vocabulary and had attained great maturity for her age, so despite his vocabulary, she actually understood everything he said._

"_I promise Ash, I'll never let you go," she cooed sweetly, and with that she pulled Ash into one last hug, and after they pulled away, Ash surprised her by kissing her quickly on the lips. It was a soft, sweet, quick peck on the lips, but it made Serena's entire body feel very warm and caused her heart to pound ceaselessly in her chest as she pulled away from him all too reluctantly and got in the car with her mother._

_After Grace said goodbye to Ash, Serena watched as the car pulled out of their driveway and started down the road, and she looked out the window to see Ash sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him to keep up. How he managed to keep pace with a car, she didn't know, but she smiled and laughed as he waved frantically at her. Quickly breathing on the window, Serena made a heart with her fingers in the condensation, writing the initials A & S, BFF for Ash to see. With that final parting message, the car picked up speed and Ash was lost in the dust. Serena cried silently as more tears cascaded down her cheeks. 'Goodbye Ash, I love you, and I hope more than anything that we'll see each other again some day.'_

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Serena, you in there?" Shauna proclaimed loudly, jarring Serena back to the present. "Sorry, I was reflecting and didn't catch what you were saying, now what was that Shauna?" Serena wondered, sweat dropping slightly at her lack of attention span as Shauna huffed with slight indignation. "I was just wondering if you had everything ready for the start of your journey tomorrow. I mean, you can't just go off and travel without having the necessities packed, also a few extra set of clothes and outfits couldn't hurt. I mean, you might want to change into something a little more travel friendly," Shauna suggested, and Serena's eyes widened as she realized she hadn't even packed anything.

"Holy shit, I forgot to pack! I was so excited to share the news with you and Calem that I lost track of the time," Serena admitted, practically inhaling the rest of her shake and following Shauna out of the restaurant and out into the small, neighborly town of Aquacorde. She was just running up the path leading up route 1 to Vaniville town when she saw Calem jogging the other way, waving frantically at her as he flagged her and Shauna down in the middle of the straight, narrow path that bridged the gap between the two towns.

"There you guys are, I've been looking everywhere for you," Calem stated in exasperation, looking rather rattled as Serena wondered why her ex boyfriend wanted to see her and Shauna. "Man, what's got you so wound up?" Shauna wondered, and Serena was curious about that as well as Calem adopted a very serious face.

"There is something really big going down in Lumiose city, and the gates to Vaniville are closing earlier than usual, I had to find you guys and bring you back home, otherwise you would have been locked out for the night," Calem replied briskly, surprising Serena with his lung capacity as she smiled graciously at him.

"Well, you didn't have to do that, but thank you Calem," Serena said gratefully, her sweet tone bringing the first smile to Calem's face she had seen today. She worried about what could be happening in Lumiose city that would have Vaniville town locking up it's gates early. Those gates were usually closed at 8 PM sharp to keep wild Pokemon from roaming the town at night, but they also served as security against any robber, thug, or criminal that happens to pay a visit to the town and tries to get away after stealing something. Of course, people who flew on flying type Pokemon could come in or out at any given time, and a person needing to get to Aquacorde town or to start their journeys could ask the gate managers to open them if the people managing the gates were still around.

"So what's going on in Lumiose city, hey wait, if the gates are closing early, does that mean the curfew for everyone in town is also at an earlier time tonight as well?" Shauna demanded loudly, and both she and Serena stared at Calem in shock when the boy merely nodded in confirmation. "I'm afraid so, there is a level 100 Garchomp on the loose, rampaging across all of Lumiose city," Calem answered, and Serena and Shauna both gasped in horror. "A level 100 _Garchomp_?! In Lumiose city?! That's not far from here, and a Garchomp that strong could raze all of Kalos if it is not stopped!" Serena exclaimed, unable to believe this was happening and worrying for the people of the grand metropolis. She had a few friends who were from Lumiose city who came to town from time to time, namely Trevor, but a few others like Clement and Bonnie as well. Serena knew them pretty well, and had even been to Lumiose city a couple of times with her mother, who took the road around Santalune forest in her car whenever she wanted to treat herself and Serena to a night out at a really nice hotel.

She also knew professor Sycamore quite well, having been to his laboratory a few times and playing with all the Pokemon there, but because her mother had been adamant about her not starting her journey just yet, and because Serena herself was actually reluctant to start anything at the time, (something she had yet to tell her friends) she had only played with the Pokemon but never decided to become a trainer. She had bonded really closely with a Fennekin during her visit there, and had asked professor Sycamore if it was possible to save that Fennekin for her until she was able to start her journey. The professor said he'd do his best, but if the fire fox Pokemon wanted to travel with anyone else he'd have to concede, and Serena agreed. To both of their surprise however, that Fennekin refused to travel with the many trainers who chose it, and Sycamore said it must have already had it's heart set on traveling with Serena, for which the Vaniville town rookie was eternally grateful.

Luckily, there were plenty of each Kalos starter Pokemon at the lab to choose from, and professor Sycamore was catching and breeding more all the time, from his own personal Delphox, Greninja, and Chesnaught, all of which he had caught and more during his journey as a Pokemon trainer back in his youth. Back in the day, professor Sycamore was a truly gifted trainer, being one of Lumiose city's top three trainers, along with the Kalos champion league master Diantha, and of course, the well known leader of Team Flare, Lysandre.

Just hearing the name Lysandre made Serena cringe. She had grown up hearing tales of his crusade that involved killing off all of the humans and Pokemon in Kalos and the world aside from those in Team Flare. He planned on harnessing the limitless abilities of the legendary Pokemon Yveltal and Xerneas to power an ancient weapon capable of destroying all life on the planet.

Using Yveltal's limitless powers of destruction and Xerneas's ability to bestow eternal life upon any person of his choosing, Lysandre planned to use the weapon to destroy everything except for Team Flare. According to rumors, he had discovered the power of aura within himself as well, and had Xerneas augment his spiritual energy and aura powers to infinite levels, such was the power of the legendary Pokemon.

During his journey through Kalos while nearing the height of his powers, Ash's father, the all-powerful trainer Red, managed to foil Lysandre's plans and free both Xerneas and Yveltal from the weapon while destroying it in the process. The base of Team Flare had caved in when the weapon was fired on itself, and though Red managed to escape, Lysandre had supposedly been buried alive in the rubble, and Geosenge town took years to repair the damage it sustained, but life eventually returned to normal.

She had heard many things from all the friends she had made, and from their parents, but the fact that a level 100 Garchomp was rampaging across Lumiose city worried Serena greatly. Pokemon didn't normally do such things without extreme levels of provocation, loss, pain, or grief, or unless forced to do so. She knew most Garchomp were actually fairly docile Pokemon outside of the battle field, so something pretty extraordinary had to have happened to have it destroying Lumiose city brick by brick.

For some reason she was thinking about all this as she, Calem, and Shauna reached Vaniville town with hardly a word to one another, all of them immersed heavily in their own thoughts on the situation. They arrived just in time, because seconds after they set foot in their hometown, the gate closed behind them, effectively containing them here.

"Alright Shauna, see you tomorrow," Calem whispered once the three of them started down the street leading to Serena's house. "Good night Calem, see you tomorrow Serena," Shauna said quickly before departing for her house up the street. Shauna lived on the other side of where the gate opened up, and Calem lived beside Serena, so Shauna went one way while Serena and Calem went the other, walking together in a comfortable silence as Serena wondered how Lumiose city was faring.

"Don't worry about Lumiose Serena, I'm sure somebody will help that poor Garchomp. I'm going home right now to keep an eye on the news, but in the meantime, you need to have faith that this situation will be dealt with," Calem advised her as though reading her mind.

"I know I shouldn't worry, but I keep thinking about Trevor, Clement, Bonnie, and the professor, and wondering if they're alright," Serena murmured softly, unable to believe how quickly things had gone to hell. She couldn't believe that just a couple of hours ago, her biggest concern was whether or not she was going to tell her mother off for trying to force hours of Ryhorn racing training upon her only daughter. Now, innocent lives were at stake, and Serena felt like all her previous worries and concerns were of little importance now that all of Kalos was possibly in jeopardy.

Calem gazed sympathetically at Serena as they stopped in front of her house, Ryhorn sleeping soundly in it's little hut in the front yard as she locked gazes with her ex boyfriend. "I understand perfectly Serena, but I have faith in Lumiose city, and I have faith in officer Jenny's police force. I don't know what's going to happen, but I know that in the end, things will work themselves out, just trust me," Calem reassured her, and Serena couldn't help but smile. Part of the reason she had been so attracted to Calem in the first place was because he radiated the same positive energy that always drew her to Ash.

Ash was the kind of boy who could brighten up any room with just his mere presence, and he always knew exactly what to say or do to cheer her up. The fact that Calem shared this trait with Ash made her feel like he was a chance for her to feel close to her best friend again. Ultimately, that had been why Serena and Calem had never worked out as a romantic couple, because every boy she ever dated had some level of resemblance to Ash, because she compared every one of them to him. No matter what she did, she couldn't get Ash out of her head, he was there when she slept, on her mind while she was awake, an ever present, eternal reminder of the pain she tried but failed to bury in her past.

Serena knew she'd never be able to let go of him, not until she saw him again, but even if she did reunite with him, would she ever want to leave? These thoughts and many more plagued her mind, and Calem seemed to understand that Ash's absence made her heart grow fonder.

"Thank you Calem," she finally said, and Calem nodded as he started to walk next door to his house, only to stop when Serena held him back. "Hey wait a minute Cal, in all the excitement I forgot to tell you something... I'm going on my journey tomorrow, and professor Sycamore is sending the Fennekin I bonded with along with Trevor and Tierno, as well as the other two Kalos starters in case I change my mind... like that will ever happen," Serena giggled in rapture.

"THAT'S FUCKING AWESOME SERENA!" Calem shouted at the top of his lungs, forcing Serena to plug her ears slightly as she couldn't help but laugh. Calem wasn't normally as loud or as chatty as Shauna, but when he was excited or angry enough, you bloody well knew it. Once he settled down, he grinned gleefully at her, pulling her into a quick hug excitedly as Serena gave into the irresistible urge to giggle once again. This was another trait Calem shared with Ash, his enthusiastic nature and his tendency to get loud and hyper when he was excited about something.

"I just can't believe this, your mother finally caved in! I mean, I guess she didn't have much of a choice, but man, this is so cool!" he added in exclamation, his enthusiasm infectious as Serena felt her optimism perking up again. "Yeah I know right, this is honestly going to be the best birthday ever, and receiving that Fennekin is going to be the best birthday present ever. Oh Calem, I'm so excited," Serena smiled. Underneath her positive attitude though, she hoped the situation with Garchomp wouldn't delay her journey and forestall the arrival of her starter Pokemon, but ultimately, if the situation with Garchomp was dealt with in an effective manner, she was willing to wait a few extra days before setting out, after all, she had waited over seven years.

"Yeah, anyways Serena, I really got to get home, we'll talk more about this tomorrow okay?" Calem responded with a wink, and he left Serena standing at the gate leading to her front yard as the honey blonde girl watched him disappear up the street and inside his house. Taking a deep breath and sneaking past Ryhorn as quiet as a Ratata in an effort not to wake it from it's slumber, Serena tiptoed through her open front door just in time to see her mother Grace looking up at her from the living room, watching the television.

"Hey Serena, I'm glad you made it back, take a look at this, the situation in Lumiose city is getting worse," her mother pointed out fearfully, and Serena frowned as she sat down on the couch across the living room from the chair her mother occupied, their eyes glued to the TV.

Her eyes widened as she got a look at the news program, the voice of the news lady providing commentary as a massive airplane could be made out hurtling through the air towards the skyscrapers near the edge of the city, glowing with a faint blue light as it leveled out in midair despite it's missing wing, a sort of energy taking a hold of it and directing it towards the nearby airport, much to the astonishment of Serena and most likely everyone else watching the news.

"I don't believe my eyes! That psychic energy is back, taking a hold of the plane once more and guiding it to safety! Whether a psychic type Pokemon or the work of a really powerful psychic human, nobody knows, but whoever is steering this massive jumbo jet to safety must have enormous power. In other news, the Garchomp situation is worsening, and professor Sycamore is distraught as he reveals it to be his Pokemon!" the news lady commented as the scene changed to one of chaos, and Serena had to fight back screams of terror and tears of grief as she got a glimpse of her favorite city in the world.

Most of the buildings in South Boulevard had sustained massive damage, hotels missing windows and houses reduced to piles of bricks and rubble, the Pokemon center was crawling with human and Pokemon patients alike, the majority of them sustaining major lacerations and grievous injuries. People were trapped in the many buildings as the entryways collapsed and entire floors of buildings that were once grand architecture caved in, sealing the entrances and trapping hundreds, if not thousands of people inside each building.

The trail of destruction carried on through Centrico Plaza, where there was countless piles of debris, and one of the skyscrapers had actually been completely leveled all the way to the ground, burying the entire street nearest Centrico Plaza in a mountain of wreckage and costing many lives. The carnage ended at the world famous landmark Prism Tower, also called the Lumiose city Gym. Garchomp could be seen resting on a platform near the top of Lumiose tower, a thousand feet above ground as the news chopper tried to get up close. The cameras broadcasting the phenomena changed continuously from camera A, which was broadcasting the crashing plane, to camera B, which was interviewing professor Sycamore, to camera C in a seemingly endless cycle. Camera C was inside the helicopter with the news lady, who was recording the Pokemon as it aimed a hyper beam straight at the chopper, forcing the driver to take evasive actions.

Serena's heart nearly stopped as the helicopter narrowly evaded the hyper beam, and she watched in infinite terror as the cameras switched yet again. She couldn't believe this was happening, all on the same day she was supposed to start her journey. Now Vaniville town was on lock down and she would have to wait until the crisis was over to begin her journey. For now though, going on her journey seemed like a very trivial concern, and if this kept up, a lot more people were going to die and it would only be a matter of time before she lost somebody she knew.

'_No, don't think about that right now. Remember what Calem said, things will work out for the better in the end. I have to believe Lumiose city and it's people can come back from this, I have to believe that Garchomp can be saved_,' Serena thought stubbornly, refusing to give into despair. She didn't know how, but somehow she knew that the turnaround was coming, that Lumiose city would be saved. She didn't know who would save it, but she had the feeling that whoever was guiding that plane to safety had the power to end this, though she couldn't understand where that feeling was coming from, or why she felt so assured of Lumiose's eventual salvation.

"Unbelievable, as I stand here in the helicopter observing Garchomp, my partner from camera C reports that the plane has landed and the people on board are all safe and sound. This is quite possibly the most phenomenal, dangerous, and hostile situation I've ever been in and had the duty of reporting. This is Lumiose city news channel, coming live to you from Prism tower, and now, the status of the plane landing, back to you Ken!" the news lady stated, as the scene on the TV changed from the prism tower to the gigantic airport near Lumiose station.

"Thank you Martha, this is Ken Kent coming to you live at Lumiose city airport, where the plane has, despite it's missing wing, been telekinetically levitated to safety. I'm standing here live with one of the passengers, who insists that he saw a glowing blue energy engulf the plane only seconds before it evened out. Sir, can you tell us more about what happened?" Ken Kent asked, a middle aged man with chestnut colored hair and perfect teeth. Providing the story was a short old man with a Houndour by his side.

"Yes sir, I was just trying to keep Houndour calm while the plane was taking a nose dive, and looking out my window, I distinctly saw a powerful aura of blue psychic energy engulf the Kanto to Kalos aircraft. I don't know how this came to be, but when you get to be my age, you don't question why miracles happen, but merely accept that they do," the old man wheezed wisely, and Serena was on the edge of her seat as she watched people heading off into the city behind the old man, the landed plane desperately needing repairs.

Serena didn't pay much attention to the news man's response, no, she was busy having a massive cardiac arrest as her eyes seized on one of the people exiting the nearby aircraft, unable to believe what she was seeing. He was a hell of a lot taller than she remembered, almost as tall as the frame of the plane's doorway, and his disheveled ebony hair was hidden beneath a cap with a Pokeball insignia, but it was definitely him. The news man was close enough to the plane that she could even make out the details of his face, from his gorgeous, intelligent amber eyes to those unique Z shaped markings on his cheeks. He looked picture perfect standing there, framed in the doorway majestically. He wasn't only taller than she remembered either, he was tanner as well, leaner and more muscular. In short, he looked absolutely stunning, and her heart felt like it might jump to her throat at any minute, because it was hammering so hard she was surprised he couldn't hear it, even if he was all the way in Lumiose city.

She noticed a really strong looking, battle hardened Raichu sitting on his shoulder, almost unable to fit up there despite the broadness it's trainer's shoulders now had. She couldn't believe he was here, now, in Lumiose city of all places, but she supposed it made sense that he would show up here eventually. That airplane came directly from Kanto, Ash's home region, so it wasn't entirely inconceivable that he would want to visit Kalos at some point, particularly after his journey in Kanto was over, assuming it was over.

A thousand different emotions tumbled around within Serena's soul, washing over her inner core and making her want to run out to Lumiose city and either kiss him, smack him, or nuzzle tearfully into his chest, depending on which of her conflicting emotions won out. This was without a doubt the most emotionally straining day of her life. On the one hand, Lumiose city was in danger, and she was scared for it's people, on the other hand, she was super happy that Ash was now in Kalos, and on top of all that, she was terrified, terrified he wouldn't remember her as fondly as she did him when the two of them met. Now that he was here in Kalos, it was only a matter of time before she ran into him, but a part of her was afraid of that reunion.

Her brain processed all this information in the time it took for Ash to all but fly down the stairs, run up to the camera and flash what seemed to be a Pokemon ranger's badge at the news man. "Um, hey everyone, I'm Ash Ketchum, and I'm a champion level trainer and Pokemon ranger. Rest assured that this incident with Garchomp will be tended to and no further bloodshed will befall this city. I intend to put an end to this, without hurting Garchomp or anyone else in this fine metropolis. Until the problem is moot however, I'd advise all of you to stay in your houses and keep your families close at hand. Until then, I'll do my best, and I thank you for taking the time to hear this," Ash said to the cameras, his deepened voice sending shivers down Serena's spine as the old man with the Houndour stared at him with a gobsmacked expression. Ash was smiling benignly at the camera, almost as if he were smiling at Serena through the TV screen. She had this sudden, inexplicable feeling that he was somehow aware of the fact that she was watching this news program, but that simply wasn't possible, was it?

Looking beside her, Serena discovered her mom was just as astounded to see Ash in Lumiose city as she was, and she had to resist the urge to squeal excitedly as she processed what he said. He was a champion level trainer now, meaning that all of his Pokemon were probably level 100, and knowing Ash's drive and determination, were probably all trained to infinite levels of power, or pretty damn closee. She knew, without knowing how she knew, that Lumiose city was now in good hands, and somehow Ash would find a way to rectify this severe inequity.

As Ash disappeared from the screen, Serena watched him run off to confront the issue, his super powerful looking Raichu following behind him as they both ran ahead at a brutal pace. She was so fixated on watching Ash leave the scene that she barely noticed the dark skinned young man with squinted eyes and spiky hair following him at a much less impressive speed, or the silver haired woman with a Helioptile and green eyes bringing up the rear. All that mattered to her now was Ash, so she watched him vanish into the darkness, and she had the distinct feeling that everything was going to be alright after all...

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Come on Raichu, we need to get to Prism tower ASAP!" Ash shouted while sprinting over 45 kilometers an hour, his electric type starter Pokemon easily keeping pace with him as the electric mouse nodded. He had no time to lose, after he regained control of the plane and managed to land it, Ash had been hellbent on rescuing the rest of the city from this catastrophe, but had to wait until the people in front of him exited first.

With so much to do and little time to do so, Ash wasn't screwing around, and sprinted as hard as he could without the use of aura. Thanks to his years of hardcore physical, aerobic, anaerobic, and all other forms of exercises and various martial arts training, Ash was capable of outpacing most professional sprinters, though without his aura enhanced capabilities, his Pokemon could outrun him at infinitely greater speeds. All of these thoughts and more tumbled through Ash's head as he tried to focus on trivial things in an effort to calm his mind, a meditative exercise he learned from his Alakazam. Maintaining perfect calmness and coolness in such a dire situation was a must, so Ash thought about mundane generic things while at the same time refusing to get caught up in them so he wouldn't lose sight of why he was here and what he was supposed to be doing. He continued running for all he was worth, his electric type mouse Pokemon making his current rapidity look not only easy, but effortless.

"Ash hold on, not so fast," Brock panted somewhere behind him, but that only made Ash speed up. "No time Brock, the faster we get to Prism tower, the more lives we can potentially save," he replied, casting a glance over his shoulder as Raichu ran on ahead.

"Raichu, you go on ahead, I'll catch up," Ash commanded, trusting his Pokemon not to run off as Raichu smirked cockily and vanished in a whirl of hyper sonic speed, a small sonic boom trailing behind it as it disappeared up the crowded, rubble-laden North Boulevard and turned a corner before Ash could even blink. He would deal with the damages to the city later, right now he needed to help Garchomp, because as long it was trapped in it's berserker state by that mind controlling collar, Lumiose city wasn't safe.

Everywhere he looked there were signs of devastation at the hands of those three trainers. Ash didn't hold Garchomp responsible at all, it was forced to do the things it was doing and had no control over it's bodily functions. Everything Ash had learned about Pokemon had taught him that they were benevolent creatures. No Pokemon was inherently evil, and only committed such acts under the duress of wicked and cruel humans. He was still having trouble accepting the idea of the omnimalevolent Pokemon Arceus mentioned, the one that was literally the God Pokemon's pure evil counterpart. The fact that such an evil creature chose to manifest as a Pokemon made Ash's insides boil. It was like this being was bent on turning Ash's preconceived thoughts that Pokemon were peaceful creatures by nature upside down and inside out. In fact, Ash's entire life, his destiny as the Chosen One, was decided long ago because of the threat the Anti-God Pokemon posed. At the beginning of the Anime Omniverse, Arceus decreed that it's chosen trainer would deliver the Omega Omnisphere from the malevolence of it's evil twin.

"Alright Brock, Alexa, I'm going to teleport us directly to Prism tower, since we don't have time to waste running towards it," Ash said once Brock and Alexa had caught up to him and regained their breath. Brock merely nodded while Alexa looked uncomfortable, though Ash couldn't really blame her. Brock had known Ash and about his powers for years, so he had time to get used to it, but Alexa was still relatively new to all this.

"It's okay Alexa, I promise it will be super quick, instantaneous even," Ash reassured her, feeling a stab of sympathy as he locked eyes with her, and Alexa smiled and nodded with a determined glint in her eyes. "Okay you guys, take my hands," Ash commanded, and both Brock and the pretty older girl complied. An instant later, they were standing amongst a crowd of officer Jenny's police force, the media, witnesses, bystanders, and professor Sycamore on Centrico Plaza.

Leaving Brock and Alexa behind, Ash quickly made his way to professor Sycamore, who was giving an interview to yet another camera crew and news hound. "Professor Sycamore I assume," Ash proclaimed, his presence drawing every eye in the vicinity as the young professor turned to gaze sadly at him. "Yes, and who are you?" he asked carefully, eying Ash speculatively as the camera zoomed in on Ash and the Pallet town trainer sensed Serena's presence once again. He could sense that Serena was watching this news program, though he didn't know if she recognized him or not. Determined to reassure her and everyone else who saw him on the television, Ash quickly took the time to speak to the viewers as well as Sycamore.

"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet town sir, I'm a champion level trainer and a Pokemon ranger. What's the situation up there?" Ash inquired nonchalantly, pointing up to the platform a thousand feet above them, the massive white tower providing a perfect vantage point for Garchomp to respite before resuming it's rampage across the city.

The air shifted around him as Raichu reappeared by his side, startling the professor as Ash awaited his response. Professor Sycamore recovered and cleared his throat, "well, that's my Garchomp up there, but it's not it's fault. A couple of thugs wearing Team Flare outfits stormed my lab and attached a collar to Garchomp's neck. I think it was some kind of mind control collar, but it didn't exactly work like that and instead sent my Pokemon into a frenzy, forcing it to flee the lab and try to hold itself back. I think it's hiding up on Prism tower to protect everyone from itself," Sycamore explained, and Ash nodded in understanding. He had read about Team Flare during his research, it was the Kalos region's answer to Team Galactic in Sinnoh, Team Plasma in Unova, Team Rocket in Kanto and Johto, and Team Aqua and Team Magma in Hoenn. Like Team Rocket however, Team Flare had first reigned years ago, during the journey of his all-powerful father Red. Aside from that, he didn't know too much more, only that the leader was the famous inventor of the holo caster and one of Lumiose city's top three trainers, a man named Lysandre.

"I understand, and I promise I'll do my best to deal with this situation in a manner that is not dangerous to Garchomp or the people of this city," Ash replied, and Sycamore nodded, reassured as he sensed this was no ordinary trainer. The Pallet town prodigy smiled one last time at the cameras before regrouping with his friends. "Alright Brock, Alexa, I've was just debriefed on the situation and I need to get up to Prism tower. From what I could sense using my psychic powers, that mind control collar is indestructible and I'll need to remove it from Garchomp's neck by slipping it off and around it's head, but I need a way to get up," Ash announced, and Brock scratched his chin in thoughtful silence.

"Can't you just teleport up there like you did to Prism tower?" Brock wondered, but Ash shook his head as Alexa merely stared at him in confusion. "I could, but I don't want to risk startling Garchomp and causing it anymore stress. It's been through enough for one day I think, and I don't want to add to the guilt it's undoubtedly going to feel when it comes to and realizes it killed dozens of people and injured countless others," Ash explained, and Brock nodded in understanding, admitting that in this situation, Ash was right, as he usually was. It was clear he was using his head, which was scary to contemplate considering his intelligence. The older trainer felt sick to his stomach that people would want to use Garchomp in such an evil manner, but after all the despicable trainers he'd seen in this world and while journeying with Ash, Brock was a lot more accustomed to this than he used to be.

People were shouting and gathering all around them, watching the scene unfold as Ash heard Garchomp's distant cry of agonizing pain, and it tugged at his heartstrings. "Alright, I'm heading up there, but it would be really nice if the owner of Prism tower was here. Anyone who knows the layout of the building and can give me a secret way up there or something," Ash sighed as he decided it was probably best to just barge in there and hope for the best, because there wasn't much time. "The owner you say, that would be me," a voice called out from behind them, and Ash's eyes locked on a blonde haired boy around 14 years old with light blue eyes, blue overalls, and a humungous backpack heading their way, a little girl around eight years old with yellow hair and large, bright blue eyes flanking him.

"Hello, I'm Clement, and this is my little sister Bonnie. We overheard some of your conversation and decided it was time for us to help out here," Clement murmured, sweat dropping as the little girl sighed in exasperation. "We would have gotten here sooner, but Clement was busy trying to remove some of the rubble and help the people who were trapped in the buildings. Plus, he's just _so_ slow," Bonnie cried out in frustration, and Ash had to resist the urge to laugh at the little girl's adorable face as she expressed her annoyance, realizing now was not a good time for humor or fawning over a child who admittedly made him painfully aware of the fact that he had no little siblings of his own.

"Nice to meet you two, but we'll exchange pleasantries later, right now I need your permission to head up there. If there are any shortcuts to get me up there faster, that would be appreciated to," Ash said quickly, not pausing to take a breath as he realized every minute was critical. Clement nodded and offered to accompany Ash to the entrance to Prism tower, and Ash smiled when Bonnie offered to help as well.

"Very well, let's go, Brock, Alexa, I need you two to stay down here and help out with the buildings that were destroyed and the people that were trapped in them. Remember what I said to you before we came to Kalos Brock, something big is on the horizon, and we're going to have to be ready when it reaches us, for now, I'm going to need your help containing the situation. Can I count on you and Alexa to help me?!" Ash instructed questioningly, gazing at both Brock and Alexa with a very intense expression. Brock didn't even hesitate, "Ash, we've been through some crazy things together, and our adventures have been amazing, I'd be a fool if I didn't back you up a hundred percent in this situation and all others that come our way in this new region, now go, Garchomp needs your help!" Brock exclaimed reassuringly, and Ash nodded and smiled quickly before following Clement and Bonnie through the crowd of Police men, only to be stopped by a female voice belonging to officer Jenny.

"Hold it right there, this is a very dangerous scene, and my police force has been instructed to keep all outsiders from entering that building," Jenny called out to them as Ash sighed in frustration. He didn't have time to trade words with the very professional and stern police officer, but he didn't really see any other options in the matter as Clement and Bonnie both stopped in their tracks as well.

"I'm sorry officer Jenny, but I must insist on accompanying these two to the top of the tower. This is Clement and Bonnie, they own Prism tower, and I'm Ash Ketchum," Ash said, using his full name, which he was positive officer Jenny would recognize. As he predicted, Jenny's eyes widened, and she suddenly became very flustered. "I see... well, I'm sorry for holding you up, I wasn't aware that you were..." she stammered, but paused when Ash held up a hand dismissively. "No harm done, but I really need to get up there and help Garchomp before it fully recovers. I'm aware you have considered the possibility of putting the Garchomp down, but I cannot in good conscience allow that to happen, not when the Pokemon is being forced to act against it's will. Rest assured that I will deal with this swiftly, but I need you to trust me when I say I can do this without hurting Garchomp," Ash promised her, surprising the bluenette.

Jenny considered the young man, who looked little over 17 years of age. It still astounded her when she heard from her second cousins in Sinnoh, Kanto, Johto, and all the other neighboring regions that Ash had met with and helped a great deal of them deal with many dangerous situations. He was a champion level trainer by the time he was 11, the youngest champion level trainer in history. Everyone who knew anything about the Pokemon leagues and it's participating combatants knew his name, knew who he was, and seeing him here, now, made her feel like this situation just got a whole lot brighter. He was young, but very mature, and from what she could see in those deep amber eyes of his, he was very intelligent as well.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ash could see Brock staring at Jenny's backside with hearts in his eyes, and quickly shot the Pewter city resident a death glare, effectively silencing him as Brock followed Alexa and the two of them headed off to help with the clean-up of the city. "Anyways, I won't waste anymore of your time mister Ketchum, but please do be careful, it's hard for me to look at someone your age and see a champion level trainer, you still look like a kid in my eyes," Jenny said warmly, and Ash smiled briefly before promising her he would and followed Clement and Bonnie through the crowd of Police officers, whom Jenny ordered to stand aside and let them pass.

"Alright Ash, I don't know who you are, but I'm glad we have someone like you on our side," Clement huffed and puffed while struggling to keep up to Ash and his sister. Ash meanwhile, was a little reticent letting Bonnie accompany them to a potentially hostile situation, but didn't have time to argue with a surely stubborn little girl. Vowing to keep her safe, Ash assumed Bonnie could take care of herself, especially if Clement wasn't objecting to her assistance. He could sense immediately that they were good people, and felt a kinship with Bonnie. Seeing her as an enthusiastic, energetic eight year old, Ash couldn't help but be reminded of himself at that age. If she put as much of her passion into Pokemon training as she did with everything he'd seen her do so far today, like helping him and Clement deal with a Garchomp she probably didn't even know, well it didn't take a genius to figure out that she'd go far in the field of Pokemon mastership.

They arrived at the entrance to Prism tower, a massive white pillar of lights and a true marvel in the world of architecture. He would have been impressed by it's majesty had he not been so wrapped up in finding the quickest way to the top and to Garchomp's aid. The entrance was built into the massive white, metallic wall, framed by a metal roof, the cement ground, and two walls on either side, where a Aipom hand shaped key hole was prominent on the left side.

Suspecting that the Aipom hand shaped hole was what unlocked the entryway, Ash furrowed his eyebrows and turned to Clement, who was smiling at him as Bonnie paced on the spot beside him. "Alright Ash, I can get us in, Clemontic gear on," Clement announced, pressing a button attached to the shoulder strap of his gigantic backpack. A white, mechanical Aipom arm extended from the top of his backpack and inserted itself into the key hole, the three fingers spinning the lock around as Ash heard a distinct clinking sound.

As the door opened and Clement retrieved his invention back into his pack, Ash whistled appreciatively. "Wow, not bad Clement, I can't help but wonder what other trinkets you're keeping in that backpack of yours," Ash commented listlessly, impressed despite the emotionless tone of his voice. Clement rubbed the back of his head sheepishly while Bonnie praised her brother. "I have to admit, I'm pretty good at these things," he chuckled humbly, and Ash couldn't help but smile.

His smile quickly faltered as he and Raichu lead the way inside and a hyper beam fired down at them from above. "WATCH OUT!" Ash shouted, pushing Bonnie and Clement out of the way as the hyper beam struck the ground between them, forcing Ash to dodge by jumping backwards while he and Raichu became trapped inside the building. The entrance had caved in behind them, separating him from his new acquaintances.

Seeing a small hole in the pile of rocks, Ash called out, "hey Clement, Bonnie, are you guys alright?" Ash asked, his emotions betraying him as a note of concern was clearly evident in his voice. His heart was flooded with relief when he heard Bonnie and Clement's response. "Yeah, we're fine, you go on ahead, we'll try to catch up," Clement said, and Ash nodded and looked to Raichu.

"Alright, let's go buddy," Ash instructed, and his all-powerful Raichu nodded and followed it's trainer up the massive flight of stairs leading to the top of the tower. Such was his conviction and his desire to reach the top, he only looked up and didn't even stop to pay attention to the scenery of the tower, which was falling further and further from his mind as he reached the top floor in just a few short minutes.

His senses flared as he caught sight of a large platform outside the shattered glass doors which slid to open. It was some kind of balcony, and Garchomp was right there, seemingly oblivious to the presence of Ash or the electric type Pokemon that, in Ash's own humble opinion, could actually beat the pseudo-legendary in a fight if it had to.

Stepping over the glass as quietly as he could muster, Ash followed Raichu outside, tensing slightly when Garchomp noticed him for the first time and reared it's head back as it prepared to launch a hyper beam. Ash quickly forged another telepathic bond with the Pokemon, and tried to will reassurance and comfort through that bond, even as he was hit by a wave of nauseatingly intense and negative emotions.

"We're here to help Garchomp, I know it hurts. All I want is to get that collar off you," Ash whispered gently, taking a step closer to Garchomp, something which his precognition warned him was a bad move as the dragon type launched a purplish-orange beam of pure energy straight at him. Ash calmly stretched out his hand and took on the blast as it connected with his outstretched fingers, only to be absorbed into Ash's body by his own limitless telekinetic powers, increasing his already immense energy levels as adrenaline coursed through him.

Despite his emotions and the rush of energy surging through him, Ash maintained a perfect calmness as he smiled reassuringly at the Pokemon. "Don't worry, you can't hurt me like you can hurt other people, because I'm not like other people. I understand your situation perfectly, you're in so much pain you can't think straight, like nothing else matters except relieving yourself of the pain by any means. You attack blindly, not to hurt others but to protect yourself from anymore agony. I get that, I really do Garchomp. Let me help you now," Ash continued, taking another cautious step forward and freezing, smiling inwardly when Garchomp didn't attack.

"Raichu, help me get the collar off it's neck, I think it's safe to help out now," Ash said, and Raichu responded with a 'cha' before following Ash towards the distressed pseudo-legendary. Sensing that Garchomp was about to attack again, Ash quickly ordered Raichu to counter with a thunderbolt as Garchomp stomped down on the surface of the platform.

The Platform, the entire tower, and the ground a thousand feet beneath them began to rattle as Garchomp's nigh-omnipotent earthquake attack took effect. Ash's eyes immediately widened with absolute horror as the near all-powerful earthquake threatened to raze all of Lumiose city and eventually shatter the entire planet like an eggshell. "GARCHOMP STOP! YOU'LL DESTROY THE WORLD IF YOU UNLEASH AN UNRESTRAINED, FULL POWER EARTHQUAKE!" Ash shouted desperately, the platform becoming dangerously close to collapsing under their feet as Garchomp didn't seem inclined to stop. The entire planet was shaking now, Ash could sense it, and though Garchomp's earthquake wasn't anywhere near optimum power yet, he knew it was only a matter of time before it became strong enough to shake the planet earth apart.

"Raichu, try to overload the collar's electric circuits with an all-powerful thunderbolt, don't hold anything back, but don't hurt Garchomp either," Ash commanded quickly, and with all his mental concentration, Ash held the nigh-omnipotent earthquake in check with his mind. His body was literally glowing with a blinding neon blue energy as bright as the sun as he augmented the tensile strength of the entire planet and everything and everyone in it to infinite levels, his mind holding everything and everyone together as the planet stopped shaking uncontrollably.

He wondered what the people in Lumiose city below would think of the giant blue star near the top of the tower, but Ash didn't much care what others thought at the moment as his body was swallowed in a harsh glow of light not unlike a supernova. At the same time, Raichu had jumped up above the shaking platform, ten feet above ground as it's whole body became engulfed in a massive sphere of blue lightning, the sky above them clouding over as Raichu's very presence created a massive thunderstorm.

Rain pelted them from the heavens, but Ash couldn't let up until the earthquake ceased, and he shielded his eyes as Raichu's glowing body intermingled with his own, the two spheres of blue light merging as one as Ash and his starter shared power with one another. With a unified cry of determination, Ash neutralized the earthquake while at the same time, Raichu aimed a ten foot arc of unlimited, super dense electrical energy at Garchomp. The attack was super concentrated and perfectly controlled, Raichu's accuracy and ability to manipulate it's limitless attack power honed from years of intensive training. In short, Garchomp didn't stand a chance, and was immediately lost in a volt of boundlessly powerful lightning.

The electricity surged through Garchomp's body, blasting into the sky and pouring down into the ground below through the entire tower at the same time, shattering every window on the way down. Reacting as quickly as he could, Ash controlled the stray bolts of lightning that threatened to zap the people present, directing the charge away from Clement, Bonnie, and the others, letting it be swallowed up by the earth as Garchomp sank to it's knees and Raichu's attack ceased.

Ash quickly took advantage of the split second opening Garchomp had given him, ignoring the overwhelming static electricity supercharging every molecule in the air as he reached the dragon type Pokemon in the blink of an eye. Garchomp's eyes were squeezed shut in pain, but Ash knew it wasn't the thunderbolt that did it, but the collar, which was now effectively shut down.

Garchomp relaxed somewhat as the endless torment ceased, and it allowed Ash to pry what was left of the device from around it's throat, effectively ending Team Flare's plot and stopping Garchomp cold. Relief flooded Ash's veins when he scanned the Pokemon's mental state using his telepathy and mind reading abilities. It felt horrible from the pain, and knowing that it had inadvertently killed innocent civilians made it feel even worse, but it seemed to accept the fact that it's actions were beyond it's control. Ash could tell it was going to be okay, and he smiled as he patted Garchomp on the head, glad this whole fiasco was finally over.

He looked down the platform at the badly damaged city, realizing it would take the construction crew days to get Lumiose city back to the way it was, even with a construction team full of bulky, super strong fighting type Pokemon. He grinned to himself as he realized he could fix this in a matter of moments, and though he wanted to give people hope, it would not do to let everyone know just how powerful he truly was just yet.

He could see the news chopper in the distance, but that didn't worry him, though he suspected he had given the lady inside quite a show. Concentrating his psychic powers, Ash commanded the fabric of reality to obey his every whim, willing the damage to Lumiose city to undo itself.

The air shimmered and pulsed with intensely disconcerting energy, and Ash opened his eyes to see his good work. Even from all the way up here, Ash could see the results of his telekinetic hold over the fabric of reality. Mountains of rubble flew to where the damaged buildings were and fused together, reforming into bricks, large chunks of wall, and metal as skyscrapers that were leveled rose above the city once more. Destroyed windows and panes of glass flew back into their respective windowsills, melding together and reforming before the eyes of the astounded residents of the city.

Entrances that caved in were repaired, and the damage all disappeared as the entire city regenerated itself. Within seconds, all of Lumiose city was restored to it's former glory, and even Prism tower, which had sustained large cracks and damage to it's structure and windows, was now pearly white and glowing in the beautiful city once more.

Ash smiled and nodded, pleased with what he saw as people and Pokemon who were trapped in the buildings began crowding out onto the streets, all of them wondering if it was over. Looking over at Raichu, who was grinning like a madman, Ash decided to have some fun with the residents of Lumiose as he telekinetically grasped Raichu and Garchomp and jumped... clear off the edge of the platform as he descended rapidly to Centrico Plaza down below. The wind whipped at his body so fiercely that he had to hold down his hat with his hand to keep it from flying off, but he whooped joyously as the whitish pavement below drew ever closer, his stomach flip-flopping insanely and his heart pounding ceaselessly in his chest as adrenaline surged through him with seemingly limitless vigor.

Raichu was laughing beside him, his faith in Ash absolute, but Garchomp's eyes widened in horror as it decided it would rather fly down using it's wings instead of the crazy... not to mention seemingly suicidal approach Ash and Raichu were using. People gasped, screamed, and shouted as they pointed at him, and Ash winced slightly as he caught sight of the camera man glimpsing his falling form. He knew Serena was probably close to an apoplectic fit by now since she was still undoubtedly watching, and admittedly he hadn't expected the cameras to be on the scene as he took a thousand foot leap of faith.

'_Aw man, Serena is going to kill me when we see each other again_,' Ash thought with a sigh, deciding that the fun was over and he had enough of a laugh as he and Raichu halted in midair, an aura of blue psychic energy engulfing both of them as Ash lowered himself and his starter to the ground. The reactions to his way down were about what he expected. The police force was staring at him as though torn between being unable to believe what they just saw, and thinking Ash was crazy.

Sycamore looked astounded, and the media was in Ash's face in the time it took for the Pallet town trainer to address the cameras. "It was the quickest way down, don't worry about me folks, I'd never have done that if I didn't have complete faith in my Pokemon's abilities," Ash reassured them, but he smiled gently at the camera, sensing his closest childhood friend's presence through the television broadcast. He knew he'd have some explaining to do once he saw her again, but put that at the back of his mind as he glared dangerously ahead of him and up the street and Garchomp landed beside Sycamore, looking remorseful.

Three figures in white could be seen making their way towards the crowd, and both Ash and Sycamore's eyes widened in recognition as the three members of Team Flare who caused this whole mess in the first place made their way to Ash and Raichu, who's entire body sparked dangerously.

Before officer Jenny or the other officers even knew what was happening, one of the men released a Tyranitar and ordered it to use hyper beam. The massive Pseudo-legendary Pokemon unleashed an orange beam of pure energy, one of truly terrible power. "Rarrrr!" it roared, drawing every eye in the vicinity as Clement and Bonnie appeared behind Ash, evidently curious as to what was happening.

The hyper beam struck the ground in front of the police forces, knocking them backwards and into the ground. Ash winced as some of them were even knocked out and he heard the distinct cracking of bones, but he quickly squashed his disgust and turned to glare murderously at the three trainers he'd been wanting to fight since he first arrived in this region.

The Team Flare grunt in the middle, a man with black shades, spiky red hair, and a white Team Flare outfit with a fireball shaped insignia and a black infinity symbol on the chest addressed the crowd, the one who had unleashed the Tyranitar in the first place. "People of Lumiose city, listen here and listen well. I am the strongest grunt in the newly reformed Team Flare, and we are here to take apart the old world and begin it anew. Resistance is futile, and any rebellious actions against our absolute collective might will be dealt with swiftly and without mercy," the grunt roared fiercely, his Tyranitar backing him up as Ash frowned at the Pokemon.

Something seemed off about that Tyranitar, not just it's willingness to serve such a man, but the fact that it did so without hesitation. He could sense it was a level 100 Pokemon, but even more disturbing was that the doorway to it's heart was sealed off. He could see a powerful shadowy aura radiating off the Pokemon, and he shuddered uncontrollably as his blood turned to ice. This was a shadow Pokemon, he was sure of it!

"So... I take it you three are responsible for this incident with Garchomp. Rest assured your actions will not go unpunished," Ash hissed, getting the attention of the Team Flare Grunts as well as the Tyranitar as he stepped out from the crowd to face them, Bonnie and Clement standing behind him as Brock and Alexa returned to the scene, only to be met with pandemonium.

"Who dares address Team Flare in such a crude manner, speak quickly boy," The grunt ordered, but Ash wasn't intimidated. "I don't take orders from scum like you, but I will gladly introduce myself. I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet town, and I detest what you are and what it is you stand for. Power does not belong in the hands of the corrupt and the morally bereft. I will not idly stand by and watch you three power mongers take advantage of an innocent Pokemon and endanger the lives of countless innocents," Ash roared, his anger taking a hold of him as he turned to Raichu, who's godlike fury mirrored it's trainer's as it prepared for battle.

Tyranitar stomped it's feet in an effort to intimidate it's opponent, but Raichu wasn't so easily cowed. It had faced off against all types of Pokemon before, legendary or otherwise, and had managed to come out on top against Brandon's Regi trio, Drake's Dragonite in the Orange Islands, Lance's first Dragonite in the Kanto Pokemon League, and countless other Elite Level, Champion level, and legendary Pokemon in the eight years the two of them had been traveling. It would take a hell of a lot more than a shadow Tyranitar to intimidate Raichu even in the slightest, and though Ash had only known about the Orre Region's shadow Pokemon problem from reading, he was confident that Raichu could take anything this loser threw at it.

Sensing that Ash had this situation well in hand, Brock and Alexa made their way discretely over to the crowd of people, who were watching the Pallet town trainer and Team Flare with awestruck horror and amazement at what they were hearing. The Team Flare grunt was beside himself with rage looking at the boy and his Raichu. What was this brat thinking? Hadn't he ever heard of Team Flare and the power it possessed as an organization? It didn't matter, he would teach the boy a lesson he would soon forget, and so he ordered his Tyranitar to attack.

"Use stone edge now," the grunt ordered, and Ash stared back, perfectly stoic as he was already ten moves ahead of this guy. "Raichu, aim an all-powerful thunderbolt at the sky and expand it to encompass the entire Plaza between us and Prism tower. Intercept all the stones and melt them into molten hot magma, then aim the attack at Tyranitar," Ash commanded very quickly, and Raichu immediately complied as the air turned to static electricity all around them, making everyone's hair stand on end as a massive, five hundred foot wide wall of electricity expanded from Raichu's volt of energy, intercepting the sharp rocks and melting them on contact before they even touched the stunned crowd, but it didn't end there. Using it's precise control over all electrical energy, Raichu redirected the skyward wall of electricity and transformed it into a super concentrated thunderbolt of absolute power, sending it tearing through the air towards the much slower Tyranitar before the grunt even realized what was happening.

The attack, while not super effective, washed over the shadow Pokemon in a massive torrent of limitless electrical power, the entire Plaza aglow with blue lightning as Tyranitar was sent careening backwards explosively, tearing a massive swath in the pavement with it's body as it flew all the way into one of the skyscrapers on the edge of Centrico Plaza. The force of the collision almost toppled the entire building again, but it held somehow even as Tyranitar flew through the wall and out the other side of of the building, smashing through three more before it finally stopped several miles away.

Ash could see all this, but all anyone else saw was Tyranitar vanishing in the horizon and leaving a trail of destruction in it's wake. He could also see that it was knocked out cold, and could sense that the Team Flare grunt was beginning to comprehend the level of skill and power his opponent possessed. Grinning mirthfully to himself, Ash knew he hadn't even come close to displaying the truly bottomless depths of his strength, but he had the feeling the grunt wasn't going to regard him as just a brat child anymore.

He was also aware of the crowd watching him, but he had more important things to worry about right now, and he didn't think it would hurt if he had a little fun with these bastards for a while. Having an audience like this would allow Ash to give these people hope in these troubled times, and he knew that people needed dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy, which was why he was dueling these guys in the middle of Centrico Plaza in the first place. He could sense all eyes on him, including the cameras, the camera man, and the entire media. He had no doubt his egresses were being broadcast to the entire Kalos region, and he loved every minute of it.

"I think... No... I know that you're just beginning to comprehend my powers, am I right? I bet now you're wishing you never dueled me, and before this battle is through, you'll learn the true meaning of an utter defeat," Ash proclaimed loudly and confidently, smirking at the wide eyed Team Flare grunt as he stared disbelievingly at the path of destruction left by the body of his own Pokemon, then back at Ash and Raichu. Ash smirked as the Grunt recovered, stupidly refusing to give in as his lobbed three Pokeballs into the air at once, releasing a Golem, a Crobat, and an Espeon in three spheres of light.

Ash grinned at the challenge, realizing this was an all or nothing triple battle now, and he summoned two of his Pokeballs to his hand via telekinesis, before tossing them haphazardly into the air. Immediately, Sceptile and Alakazam emerged in two spheres of light, and Ash grinned as he realized a triple battle was a perfect way to demonstrate the proficiency of his team. It was one thing to battle one on one and use one Pokemon in an effort to overcome another, but with three Pokemon working together, the true finesse of his team and his battling style would be revealed, and his opponents wouldn't stand a chance. Of course, the finesse of his team would be marred by the absurd difference in the power levels between his Pokemon and that of his opponents.

It wasn't that this grunt was weak by any means, he had level 100 Pokemon for Arceus's sake, but against a trainer like Ash, it wasn't even a contest. All of Ash's Pokemon had at least one stat at an infinite level, and some, like his giant Dragonite, his Arceus, Mew, Raichu, his Alakazam and Mewtwo from Johto in their mega evolved forms, and his Kyogre and Groudon in their primal forms, had a complete set of infinite stats and were all-powerful in every way they were capable of being. On top of that, his Mewtwo from the Decorola islands had five maximum stats in it's mega evolved forms, as did his Kyurem, Giant Gengar, Giant Alakazam, and Giant Wigglytuff. The rest of his legendary Pokemon had at least three infinite stats, and his non legendary Pokemon had at least one. In short, it was a virtually omnipotent champion level team, rendering Ash almost unstoppable.

"Alright Golem, use earthquake on all of the opposing Pokemon, Crobat, use Sludge bomb on Sceptile, and Espeon, jump up to avoid the earthquake and use shadow ball on Alakazam," the grunt ordered quickly, and Ash smirked. He could sense the man's fear, and knew why he was afraid. His defeat of that Shadow Tyranitar had the man visibly shaken, and he could sense that the grunt wasn't taking any chances again and was going all out.

Unfortunately, his best wasn't nearly good enough, and Ash's smirk broadened as he merely stood there and conveyed his counter measures to his Pokemon without even uttering a single word out loud, his bond with his Pokemon so strong he didn't need to speak aloud in order for them to get the message.

Alakazam moved first, vanishing into thin air and reappearing on the other side of the field behind the opposing Pokemon before anyone could so much as blink. Raichu and Sceptile had moved a split second before Alakazam reappeared, and vanished in two separate whirls of hyper sonic speed as they both used extreme speed in perfect unison, the most powerful of all the speed oriented moves.

Glowing with telekinetic energy as it reappeared, Alakazam took a hold of the three opposing attacks with it's mind, turning sludge bomb against Espeon, earthquake against Golem and Espeon, and shadow ball against Crobat.

Sensing what was about to happen, the grunt cried out for his Pokemon to dodge, but his eyes widened when an invisible force slammed into his three Pokemon, and a wall of solid air appeared in a tight circle around them, herding them as an orange and green blur created a wall of solid air on pure speed alone. Soon a massive whirlwind was forming around the trio, effectively trapping them and leaving no room to dodge as Alakazam turned their attacks on them, taking control of the tornado as well so it wouldn't impede it's efforts to hit it's enemies with their own moves.

Sludge bomb hit first, entering the massive twister as though it weren't even there and striking Espeon head on. Earthquake was soon after, and though the ground rattled around Ash's feet, it wasn't nearly as bad as it was on the other side of the field, where the ground tore open at Golem and Espeon's feet and struck them, hard.

Finally, the shadow ball tore through the air at twice the speed it was heading to Alakazam at, and Ash ignored the cheers of the crowd behind him as his body surged with adrenaline and the shadow ball struck Crobat through the tornado.

Finally, with nothing more than a snap of his finger, Ash mentally commanded Alakazam to lift up the opposing Pokemon, tornado and all, then drop them back down into the earth at a hyper sonic velocity from five hundred feet in the air. Alakazam caught his eye and smirked, it's whole body glowing with virtually limitless psychic energies that permeated every particle in the air and set the entire world throbbing. Everyone could feel the sheer power of Alakazam's attack as a blue aura engulfed the blackish tornado and the Pokemon inside, lifting them higher into the air than some of the skyscrapers and almost as high as Prism tower itself, before sending them spiraling towards the ground much faster than any normal fall would force them to suffer.

The three grunts screamed in utter terror as the three Pokemon hit the ground in front of them with meteoric impact, creating a massive shock wave that knocked them and everyone else in the vicinity off their feet except for Ash and his three Pokemon, who rematerialized by his side and grinned at him. A massive plume of smoke, dust, and debris quickly followed the shock wave, but Ash already knew it was over, despite being unable to see.

As he predicted, the smoke cleared and revealed all three grunts and their Pokemon, lying flat on the ground and knocked out cold. Ash maintained a neutral expression as he summoned Tyranitar's Pokeball to his hand from the first grunt's Team Flare jacket, already having one of the world's most powerful Tyranitar's in his possession but wanting to keep this shadow Pokemon in his possession in order to open the door to it's heart.

Communicating with his omnipotent Mew via Telepathy, Ash had it return the Tyranitar to it's Pokeball in his hand and commanded it to purify the level 100 shadow Pokemon instantly, which it did. Feeling the Pokeball warm up with the aura of a purified shadow Pokemon, Ash had Mew change the ownership of this Tyranitar over to him, hoping Jenny would be able to overlook the fact that he technically snagged the Pokemon, not unlike Wes or Micheal, the two champion level trainers of the Orre region, which he had never actually visited but heard plenty about.

The entire crowd erupted into cheers behind him as Ash congratulated his Pokemon. "Sceptile, Raichu, and Alakazam, you were awesome, return my friends, I may call upon your assistance once again very soon," Ash praised, returning Sceptile and Alakazam in two beams of red light as the Pokemon both gave off a battle cry. "Alakazam," his first starter cried, which was followed by a chorus of "Sceptile," and "Raichu," from his other starter and the grass type Hoenn native.

His all-powerful Raichu quickly climbed back onto his shoulder's as Tyranitar's Pokeball disappeared, evidently transporting to Oak's Pokemon laboratory. Ash hoped nobody saw what he did, but if anybody did, they weren't making a fuss of it, in fact they were cheering for him as he turned to face the mob of people milling to speak with him.

Clement, Bonnie, Brock, Alexa, Sycamore, and Jenny reached him first, and Jenny kept the mob at bay while Garchomp followed behind Sycamore, the both of them coming to thank the Pallet town prodigy as Ash and Raichu exchanged greetings. "You were amazing Ash, when I'm old enough, I want to be as strong as you are," Bonnie cooed enviously, and Ash blushed at her praise, not wanting her to put him on too high a pedestal.

"Bonnie, you have spirit, and that alone will take you far in the field of Pokemon mastership. From what I can tell, you and Clement are good people, and I have no doubt that you have the capacity to become as great a trainer as I am, with enough hard work and training that is. Honestly, I got where I am today through trial and error, ridiculously rigorous training, and two fully trained starter Pokemon, who passed on their knowledge and experience to all the other Pokemon I caught, and I certainly couldn't of done all I did without the love and support of all my friends," Ash explained, and Bonnie nodded, her smile reaching her eyes as she shook his hand to introduce herself, her brother Clement stepping forward after she was done.

"Nice to meet you officially Ash, I'm Clement, the gym leader of Lumiose city. Your battle with Team Flare was inspiring, and I must admit I'm a little in awe of you," Clement admitted sheepishly, and Ash sighed in resignation, realizing long ago that people would admire him regardless of his efforts to play down his heroic egresses.

"I'm Brock, nice to meet you guys," Brock introduced when Bonnie and Clement turned their attention to him, the both of them recognizing him as a friend of Ash's as they introduced themselves. "Nice to meet you Brock, I'm Bonnie, and I want to be the best trainer ever when I get my license," Bonnie replied, and Brock smiled down at the little girl; he, Alexa, Sycamore, Ash, Clement, and Bonnie blissfully oblivious to the noise of the crowd behind them, the police officers and the Media.

"So you're the famous Ash Ketchum professor Oak was going on about. Nice to finally meet you, and I suppose I have you to thank for my Garchomp's freedom from that awful device," Sycamore said graciously, and Ash nodded and shook his hand. "Well, Raichu did a lot of the work, using it's thunderbolt to fry the circuitry of the mind control device. I figured since it was virtually indestructible, it would require a pretty impressive jolt to short it out, and even if I couldn't break it, I could definitely power it down, and thus Garchomp is now free. I actually have a Garchomp of my own in my party right now, one at level 100 with Infinite HP, near-infinite Attack, Infinite Speed, and near-infinite everything else," Ash admitted proudly, willing to brag a little where his Pokemon and their intensive training was concerned as Sycamore's eyes widened.

"Without a doubt one of the most powerful Garchomp's I've ever heard of, by the way Ash, have you ever heard of a phenomena called mega evolution?" Sycamore inquired, and his eyes went as wide as saucers when Ash flashed the mega ring on his right wrist. "Yeah, I guess that answers my question, well, I'm assuming you're aware Garchomp can potentially mega evolve to," Sycamore added, and once again, Ash nodded as everyone listened to their conversation with rapt attention. "Yes, I knew that, and once I obtain the appropriate stone for Garchomp's mega evolved form, I intend to train it up until all of it's stats are at an infinite level, and it attains absolute power and ultimate godhood among all of it's kind," Ash proclaimed, and Sycamore studied the boy calculatingly, wondering if he was serious or not, but upon seeing the look on the 17 year old's face, he was astounded to see nothing but a serious expression on Ash's face.

"An admirable goal, and one I have to admit sounds a little absurd. As far as I am aware, the strongest Garchomp in the world is a close race between Lance, Cynthia, and Drake's of the Hoenn Elite Four, all three of whom have mega evolved Garchomps with an all-powerful set of stats on every stat except their speed, and they're all racing to see who can max out their Garchomp's power levels first. To actually consider training yours to such a level is frankly amazing, and it puts you up there with the best of the best," Sycamore said in response, and Ash smiled, already aware of the sheer power Drake, Lance, and Cynthia possessed, being two of the strongest regional champs and one of the most powerful Elite Four members in all of the regions.

"Believe it or not professor, Ash has actually beaten Lance before. It's how he became a champion level trainer," Brock stated, and as Sycamore's eyes widened somewhat Ash felt compelled to clear something up. "I even beat his strongest Pokemon, his Dragonite, which had an all-powerful complete set of stats even back then, but it was one of the single most difficult battles I ever fought even to this day, and I never faced his Garchomp. Plus I only had to beat six of his Pokemon to become champion. I didn't actually take on his full, champion level team, and would have lost if I did," Ash admitted ruefully, but Sycamore had the distinct feeling Ash was being modest. To have beaten a regional champion, no matter the circumstances, was a near impossible feat, and to have accomplished it at such an age as Ash's was almost unheard of. What was even more striking was that Ash spoke of the battle as though it happened years ago, which meant he had been significantly younger than he was now the day he beat Lance. That fact alone made the professor shudder to think how powerful the Pallet town trainer was _these_ days.

"Anyways, I strive to be the best, but I'm not quite there yet," Ash stated somewhat truthfully, he was definitely on the same level as even Cynthia or Lance, but not on the same level as Red or Blue, both of whom had entire champion level teams with all-powerful Pokemon that had maxed out, limitless stats. To defeat Pokemon such as theirs was a feat only a select few of Ash's Pokemon could manage, namely his Raichu, his giant Dragonite, his Alakazam, and his strongest legendary Pokemon.

"Well best of luck to you my friend, come back to my lab later on today, and I'll give you something I'm sure will help your Garchomp immensely. Come along Garchomp, we need to give these reporters an interview," Sycamore instructed his Pokemon, who looked tired and worn out but other than that looked fine. "Professor Sycamore, can you explain what happened with your Garchomp please? How will the families of those who have died be compensated for their grievous loss?" the reporter said hastily, and Ash winced at those questions, realizing that Garchomp and Sycamore had to be feeling terrible at this point.

"Rest assured I will do everything in my power to address the families of those who died in this unforeseen calamity. I take full responsibility for Garchomp's actions, and will gladly cover all the funeral costs, appear at every burial, and compensate these families for the pain and suffering they've endured," Sycamore replied resolutely, and Ash felt compelled to do something about this, though he couldn't see how he could possibly fix this.

'_Arceus, is there any chance th__ese__ people can be brought back to life? Were they truly meant to die like this?_' Ash telepathically pleaded, his eyes filling with tears as the Alpha Pokemon's almighty voice echoed in his head. '_Ash, you know as well as I that death must remain an absolute, for everything in nature, there is always a balance. I don't deny that this situation is truly heart wrenching, and these people deserve justice, but not against Sycamore or Garchomp. We both know who is really to blame for all this_,' Arceus answered, and Ash's fists clenched as thoughts of Team Flare flashed through his mind's eye.

He turned to the three unconscious figures who were to blame for this, and immense, murderous fury surged through him as he realized how easy it would be to just kill them now, so they could never hurt anyone else ever again. Brock seemed to sense where Ash's thoughts were going and quickly stepped between him and the three grunts. "Ash, vengeance won't solve anything. I know this is horrible, and those three deserve to be punished, but we'll let Jenny deal with them," Brock whispered, and Raichu cooed on his shoulder as Ash seemed to relax.

The electric mouse started nuzzling his cheek in affection, and Ash started to calm down. "Sometimes there is a fine line between vengeance and justice Brock," Ash insisted, and Brock nodded sadly. "Be that as it may, you don't have the right to decide who lives and who dies, you're not a god Ash," Brock said in response, and Ash drew a deep breath to gather himself as he felt a small hand wrap around his own.

He looked down at his side to see Bonnie smiling up at him. "You were amazing Ash, but Brock is right, let the authorities handle this," she offered comfortingly, and Ash's heart immediately softened. He didn't know why, but seeing the small girl, who could be no older than eight, smiling up at him, made him want to hug her and tell her everything was going to be alright. It was amazing, she had just seen everything Ash had done, had seen Sycamore take all the heat for everything that happened, had heard of people dying, which was a scary concept for any child, and here she was, comforting him instead of dwelling in her own grief, fear, and despair.

"Thanks Bonnie, you know, you're really brave to have seen all this carnage and still be able to smile," Ash murmured, and Bonnie blushed sheepishly at his praise. Clement walked up to them, his eyes downcast but determined. "It's going to take some time, but Lumiose city will eventually recover. What I want to know is how the city repaired itself. One moment, everything was in ruins, the next this sort of reality-warping energy appears, and all the damage is gone, as though it was never there," Clement wondered, staring calculatingly at Ash as the Pallet town trainer sighed in resignation.

"Yes Clement, I did that, but I can't resurrect the dead. I wish to hell that I could though, believe me," Ash replied, and Clement nodded in accord. "Yeah me to, it's funny, one can have all the power in the world and still be unable to mend broken hearts, or Arceus forbid, bring back loved ones from beyond the grave. I won't ask how you did what you did Ash, but I want you to know, I appreciate everything you did, not only for Prism tower, which looks as good as new, but for all the people of this city," Clement said graciously.

"Honestly Clement and Bonnie, I think somehow I was meant to meet the two of you. This may sound strange since we only just met, but are either of you interested in a journey, because if you are, you're welcome to come along with Brock and I," Ash promised. Clement and Bonnie both exchanged a glance, "well, I'm the gym leader of Lumiose city, but I'm also an inventor. I've been wanting to invent more and lead the gym less lately, and I was thinking of building a robot to substitute for me while I traveled the region. Bonnie was planning on coming with me, and we already talked to our dad about it. He's fine with it, and I know we could both learn a lot from you Ash, even if you're borderline crazy. I mean, what kind of a nut job jumps clean off of Prism tower like that, do you have any idea how freaked out we were?!" Clement demanded in exclamation, and Ash reared back like he had been slapped.

He hadn't meant to freak anybody out, it honestly just didn't faze him, the thousand foot drop was nothing when you're a psychic. "I'm sorry guys, it was just in good fun, but I never meant to freak anybody out that badly," Ash apologized as Clement waved a hand dismissively. "It's not a big deal, clearly you had things under control, just don't do something crazy like that again, it almost gave me a heart attack," Clement sighed, and Bonnie giggled as she smiled up at Ash.

"I thought it was funny, and awesome, especially at the end there when you floated down slowly. How did you do that?" Bonnie asked, and Ash almost gave up and told them everything, but he wanted to have a little fun with them first. "A good magician never reveals his tricks," he said mysteriously, and Bonnie pouted at him in the most adorable Lillipup face he'd ever seen.

As they all laughed, Jenny made her way towards them after giving an official statement with one of the many news people present on the scene. "Ash Ketchum, I must commend you on your skills," Jenny said in a very business-like tone as she stood before them, quickly ordering three of her men to apprehend the Team Flare grunts.

"What I want to know is why Team Flare is making a comeback, not to mention how," Jenny said to nobody in particular as the three grunts regained consciousness and were herded by the Police towards the nearest cop car. "We'll get you for this kid, mark my words," the main grunt Ash battled growled menacingly as the police man pushed him forcefully forwards. "Move along scum, you three crooks have a lot to answer for," Jenny's police officer commanded angrily.

Ash gritted his teeth watching them get courted away inside the cop car, wanting so badly to just tear the bastard limb from limb with his mind. "I guess that's a wrap for now," Alexa stated, speaking up for the first time in a while as she joined the other reporters in questioning witnesses, and all the people now crowding the busy streets of the city once more. Ash looked around him at the city, Brock and Raichu standing beside him, Clement and Bonnie in front. Ash looked at the blonde haired siblings, he hadn't known them for more than an hour, and already they felt like kin.

"So... I take it this means you and Bonnie are traveling with us then..." Ash said hesitantly, not wanting to take things for granted but needing to be sure as both siblings nodded. "Of course, I know if we travel together, we'll both become stronger Ash, there is a lot we can learn from you," Clement said, and Ash smiled properly for the first time since this whole fiasco started.

"You mentioned your dad was okay with that, but what about your mom?" Ash couldn't help but wonder, but he quickly stopped as both Bonnie and Clement hung their heads at the mention of the word mom. "She... died... a long time ago," Bonnie whispered, and Ash felt his heart wrench close to the breaking point as he gazed at the sad siblings.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. You know, my father was Red, the all-powerful trainer. He left us when I was really young to go on one last journey. He just up and left, with no real explanation as to why he was leaving, saying he just had to keep moving and that the road was calling for him once more," Ash replied, trying to give both of them as unvarnished a look into his past as possible, figuring he owed them that much when he asked them both a really personal question.

"Anyways, you two should get your stuff ready, Ash and I will wait at the Pokemon center on South Boulevard, come meet us there and we'll talk more about traveling together," Brock said instructively, and both Clement and Bonnie recovered before smiling at him and Ash. "This is going to be so much fun, I've never been outside the city before," Bonnie said excitedly, and Ash had to resist the urge to pick the girl up and hug her.

He didn't know why he felt so strongly about having Clement and Bonnie along with him on his journey, he just felt compelled, and frankly Bonnie was his opportunity to have a little sister. It was the same with him and May's brother Max, who had been the first little brother figure Ash had ever had, even if the boy had been a little brat at first and annoyed Ash to no end.

He was brought out of his musing by Raichu perking it's ears and looking to and fro, clearly sensing something as Ash's aura senses went _crazy_! He could feel an extremely powerful presence somewhere above the city, and it was coming in fast. "Guys, something is coming, something _very powerful_. Get ready," Ash ordered with deadly calm as he commanded Raichu to stand by ready for battle.

Brock and the others immediately tensed but did as he asked. Bonnie immediately ran to Clement fearfully, hugging onto his arm as Clement looked around frantically. Sycamore was still giving interviews left, right, and center, trying to keep the media occupied, but Garchomp had tensed the same way as Raichu. All of the Pokemon in the area were immediately on guard and calling out in loathing anticipation, sickeningly fearing the impending doom as Ash felt the presence draw closer and closer.

'_There is an infinitely powerful presence fast approaching, and it __doesn't seem very friendly__,_' Ash's Mewtwo from Johto shouted in his mind telepathically. '_I recognize this presence, it's a legendary Pokemon I haven't seen in eons, __and__this is the strongest one I've ever sensed_,' Arceus added, and Ash shuddered uncontrollably. If his _Arceus_ was on edge, than whatever this was had to be extremely dangerous.

'_That's an Yveltal's presence, I recognize it too, but what's it doing here? And why do I sense a trainer riding on it's back?_' Mew wondered in it's own native tongue, seeming unusually on edge as Ash remembered the name Yveltal from his studies on Kalos lore. Before he could address the matter any further however, the air shifted uncontrollably and a massive wave of pure energy blew everyone backwards several feet, and knocked many of them on their ass.

Ash and everyone else gazed upon the massive form now towering above them with malevolent majesty, their mouths agape. A roar of pure power drowned out every other noise in the whole city as none other than a massive, shiny Yveltal with a pink and white coloration instead of red and black appeared directly in _front_ of them, and it was the stuff of nightmares. A single flap of it's massive wings, which were white on the top instead of black, sent a mini hurricane tearing through the city, and it's mere presence had everyone of the police, media, and trainers all alike panicking and scattering about, trying to get away from the very much _real_ legendary Pokemon. It radiated dark type energy of literally limitless strength, and everyone, even non aura users like Brock, Clement, and Bonnie, could feel the power it gave off.

Only Ash and Raichu remained unfazed by the presence and the power of the mythical Pokemon, which was somehow here right now, in the flesh, the legendary Pokemon that wielded infinite powers of destruction. Brock, Clement, and Bonnie quickly backed away to hide behind Ash, but at least they didn't outright abandon him. Horrified screams echoed all around them, but to Ash it was all background noise, and he remained rooted to the spot as a sultry, seductive sounding female voice addressed them and the crowd of screaming children, terrified Pokemon, and panicking mobs of adults and trainers.

"Well, well, well, I must say my Yveltal's presence here has really taken this city by storm. I'm here to liberate my grunts, and nothing will stand in my way," the woman said matter-of-factually as she jumped off the Yveltal's back, and Ash was met with the sight of a bodacious, beautiful young woman around 18 years old or so; with perfect curves, a flawless hourglass figure, d-cup breasts, and auburn hair with pale skin and amber eyes. In short, she was a woman who put even Giselle from the Pokemon Technical Institute to shame, who was admittedly one of the best looking females he'd ever laid eyes on, even if she had started out as a total snob.

'_Of course the trainer of that Yveltal just had to be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Just my rotten luck, of all the times I cursed my mother's teachings and my gentlemanly ways, this one takes the cake. __W__oman or not __though__, she's __sided with an__ enemy __force, and I have to take her down_,' Ash quickly reasoned out logically, and he and Raichu glared at the girl as she caught sight of him for the first time, a curious expression on her face as she realized this boy and his friends hadn't scattered or run off the instant her Yveltal hit the scene.

Yveltal quickly roared again, attempting to intimidate the young trainer for it's mistress, but though it's limitless power set the air throbbing with astounding energy, Ash and Raichu remained rooted to the spot, their eyes never wavering as Brock, Clement, and Bonnie stood by his side. "Just who are you anyways, and how did you capture Yveltal?" Ash demanded crossly, and the girl smiled at him, finding his forward attitude and bravado strangely appealing.

She had met many trainers before, both before her servitude to Lysandre began and during her years of devotion, but she had never encountered anyone who remained so courageous in the presence of her Yveltal. Lysandre was now serving a very powerful entity of some kind, she didn't know much about it, but it had created her unstoppable collection of super Pokemon to thank her for her unwavering loyalty to their cause. Only her Sylveon, which was her starter Pokemon, had been trained, though she had trained it to the maximum, infinite levels of power all Pokemon had the capacity to possess but rarely attained. She often held her own against Lysandre himself when the two of them sparred. Her Yveltal was all-powerful in every way an individual of it's species could possibly be, having all of it's stats at infinite levels. In fact, her entire team was built to carry out Lysandre's will without any chance of defeat. Her champion level team and collection, although containing no more than 12 Pokemon, was essentially omnipotent, and her Yveltal alone was stronger by far than most entire champion level teams. She even had an all-powerful Gengar, which she could mega evolve using the mega ring Lysandre had gotten her for her 10th birthday.

The fact that this boy, who wasn't much younger than she was, was maintaining perfect calm in the presence of such beauty and power intrigued her immensely. So it was with more politeness than she usually directed at her opponents that she answered his query, realizing it hadn't even been ten seconds since she arrived here to rescue her grunts from the police, and this boy had already earned her respect. "I'm Amber, the top Admin of the newly constructed Team Flare, a trainer of limitless power," she answered sweetly, hoping he would at least introduce himself in return, but no such luck.

"I don't care how powerful you are, those grunts brought about the deaths of dozens of innocent people; women, children, it didn't matter to them how many people died as long as Garchomp gave them power. I despise people like you, and Yveltal or not, you won't stop me from taking you apart," Ash roared with furious anger. "You tell her Ash," Bonnie cheered, and Clement, Brock and Alexa agreed as the panicking crowd rallied behind him and Raichu prepared for battle.

Amber was slightly taken aback by the boy's hostility, but even more surprising was how his refusal to back down actually had the other people rallying against her, not that she couldn't quickly and effortlessly stamp them out if she so desired, but it was quite disconcerting nonetheless. Still, she could understand where he was coming from, her plan to test her mind control devices on other Pokemon had ended poorly, and cost the lives of innocents unintentionally. "I'm sorry for the deaths of the innocents, I truly am. The mind control device malfunctioned, I never intended for it to go this far," Amber admitted remorsefully, hanging her head in obvious shame, and Ash was stunned when he heard the sincerity in her voice and saw her eyes watering with unshed tears.

He quickly recovered and gazed at her with a cold fury that permeated the very air. Yveltal reared back and got ready to battle, the tension between it and Ash's Raichu building as both Pokemon glared at each other, neither one backing down. "You're not the only one with omnipotent Pokemon Amber, and I fully intend to have you answering for all the lives you've inadvertently destroyed," Ash hissed, and he quickly ordered a full powered thunderbolt from Raichu.

The air became charged with static electricity as Raichu literally glowed with limitless, neon blue electrical energy and a massive, 100 foot wide bolt of lightning illuminated all of Centrico plaza as it covered the distance between itself and Yveltal in an instant. "Yveltal, counter with an all-powerful Dragon Rush," Amber quickly ordered, not wanting her Pokemon to be hit by that whopper of an electric attack. _Who was this kid_, that thunderbolt _actually_ had the potential energy levels to knock out her legendary Pokemon, which was created to be unstoppable, and possess the ultimate levels of power a Pokemon could have.

The air turned to pure heat all around them as Yveltal instantly complied, and the entire city became over-saturated with power as thunderbolt met Dragon rush head on. A massive stream of limitless Draconian energy swallowed Yveltal's entire body as it flew straight into the incoming thunderbolt, both infinitely powerful attacks colliding and causing a massive explosion that cratered all of Centrico Plaza and shattered every window in every building in a 50 mile radius. Prism tower came dangerously close to toppling as the very foundation of the entire city was shaken to it's core, and everyone in the vicinity was sent skidding across the ground on their asses except for Ash, Amber, and Raichu, who kept up with it's limitless discharge of blue electrical energy.

Finally the two attacks simply canceled each other out in a brilliant flash of all-consuming white light, and as Yveltal and Raichu awaited their respective trainer's commands without so much as the wind knocked out of them, Amber was surprised when Ash smirked and a wild glee lit up his eyes. "Oh man, this is going to be fun!" he exclaimed, and he quickly ordered his next attack as Amber frowned at him, wondering what he had up his sleeve and curious in spite of herself.

"Raichu, into the air with magnet rise, then roll at near-limitless speeds through the air towards Yveltal while performing a full powered, infinite mass BOLT STRIKE!" Ash commanded at the top of his lungs, holding absolutely nothing back as Amber's eyes widened. _How in the world was his Raichu capable of using that move?! Never mind that though, was he out of his fucking mind_?! Using the infinite mass technique that often accompanied any Pokemon moving at faster than light was incredibly stupid, and powerful enough to destroy the entire planet! She decided to worry about that later as she saw Raichu calling out a loud war cry and doing exactly as Ash said. "Yveltal, counter with a maximum powered Sky Attack, Foul Play, Phantom Force, and Dragon Rush quadruple combination as a counter shield and an all-powerful counter attack, and use it while operating at the same speeds as his Raichu," Amber called out, deciding to end this here and now before it got too out of hand with her most lethal combination attack, one she had only practiced in theory before, and never used in any battles, not even against Lysandre's mega evolved Gyrados.

Ash's eyes widened momentarily, but he quickly recovered as Yveltal vanished while exuding horrifying ghostly energy, and he knew his Raichu wouldn't be able to hit it until it showed itself. Raichu quickly levitated above ground before it vanished in a whirl of speed so great it didn't localize, and even Ash's aura enhanced and psychic senses couldn't keep up with the pure speed of his Pokemon as the attacks collided, and the battle between two unstoppable forces ended too quickly for the human eye to follow.

Having had his aura abilities flared up to the maximum before he ordered this potentially omnicidal attack, Ash absorbed the power of the planet busting shock wave and the overwhelming energy in the air relative to everyone on the planet except for Yveltal. He decided to spare Amber an instantaneous death, since she was proving to be not only honorable, but also the most powerful opponent he ever faced.

Everyone was shocked when they braced themselves for an apocalyptic collision that never came, and Raichu and Yveltal both rematerialized, the both of them looking to be on their last legs, savagely bruised, battered, bloodied, and looking ready to pass out from the almighty exchange of blows, but both of them refused to let their pain overcome their will, and they held on even at the brink of unconsciousness. Ash was absolutely astounded, how could _any_ Pokemon, even an all-powerful Yvetal, still be standing after the beating it took from Raichu's attack, which was easily powerful enough to shatter planets like eggshells and rip a hole in the fabric of the Omniverse. The blast had literally created a super massive black hole that Ash was forced to move a googolplex mega parsecs away from his home planet using his tactile telekinesis, teleporting it outside of the Anime Omniverse and into the nearest God-Verse, lest the infinite accumulation of universes and alternate realities end up wiped off the map of the Omega Omnisphere.

"What the hell just happened?! How is the earth still in one PIECE?!" Amber shouted, and as soon as everyone realized that Ash knew what he was doing beyond the shadow of a doubt, they all gave him a loud, standing ovation as they cheered his name over and over again. Clement and Bonnie were floored, there was no way Ash could have been telling the truth when he commanded Raichu to use that absurd combination attack, it was just too godlike in scale and power, and where was all the damage?!

"I don't believe this, she's as powerful as Ash!" Brock exclaimed, ignoring the cheering crowd, more surprised by that than the fact that Ash just launched an attack that was literally powerful enough to obliterate the universe and quite possibly any realms that might have been beyond it. He was glad Amber didn't seem to be as aware of all the powers she possessed as Ash was, but her Deity-worthy clout worried him tremendously. "Brock, please tell me what's going on!" Clement shouted above all the noise, unable to conceive such high scaled battling as he tried to make sense of everything that was happening.

Brock didn't respond right away, he was too lost in his own thoughts to think clearly. Meanwhile, the short breather Ash and Amber's Pokemon took was all it took for them to fully recover from all their injuries, the bruises and lacerations fully healing themselves and fading away entirely. Their stamina was limitless, so as long as they didn't take extensive damage, Ash knew this battle could last anywhere from several days to several decades without decisiveness. Ash smiled, he couldn't help it, this battle was actually providing him with a suitable challenge to overcome. He didn't know who this girl was, but she had already earned his permanent respect.

"You're a worthy opponent Amber," Ash called out, and Amber grinned sheepishly at him, surprising him for a second time as she proved to be modest as well as kind. "Likewise Ash, I don't know who you are, but you have spirit, courage, and valor, and I respect that immensely. Why isn't someone with your vast talents a member of Team Flare?" Amber shouted above the cheers of the crowd, whom she noticed were screaming the boy's name over and over again. Whoever he was, he seemed to be quite a famous champion level trainer, but she didn't really follow the Pokemon League victories all that diligently, so she had no idea who he was, which was a shame, because he definitely had her attention now.

He wasn't one of the regional champions, she knew that much, but she vaguely recalled a trainer by the name of Ash Ketchum besting Lance, the Kanto Elite Four leader and champion league master. Apart from that, his name never really grabbed her attention, but seeing him here now, with a crowd of spectators cheering his name as he fought her Yveltal and actually held his own, had her massively intrigued and fascinated.

Ash frowned as he considered her query, having some questions of his own for the asking. "I could also ask you why such a strong, kind, beautiful, and bodacious trainer such as yourself is in league with a gang of psychopaths? You don't seem like a bad person, but from what I understand, Team Flare was hellbent on using the ultimate weapon of Kalos to destroy the world, and it's leader Lysandre was genocidal. Tell me something my beauteous, worthy adversary, why would you join forces with a team who's main goal in life is the destruction of all things?" Ash couldn't help but wonder charmingly.

Amber blushed profusely at all the flirtatious compliments he sent her way, surprised to see that he meant every word. Still, he had called Lysandre genocidal, and that alone didn't sit well with her, so she decided to answer his question and hopefully convince him that what her boss was trying to do was what was necessary to fix all the things wrong with the world.

"You're mistaken about Lysandre, he's not an evil man, and he saved my life once upon a time. I owe him a debt, that is the main reason I'm so devoted to his cause but not the only one. He's been like a father to me ever since my parents died in a fire that destroyed my home," she tried to explain, a sad expression overcoming her as her voice was drowned out in the crowd, though fortunately Ash heard her, and he gazed sympathetically at the girl.

Still, something was troubling him, a life debt was a very serious thing, and it seemed like Amber was painfully aware of the fact that she was bound to Lysandre, who was still alive somehow despite the fact that Ash's own father buried him under a thousand tons of rubble. "I'm sorry for your loss Amber, I really am, but I can't let you take those grunts out of officer Jenny's custody," Ash explained, and Amber nodded in perfect understanding.

"I know, but I also can't let you and your friends take my comrades into custody, so let's settle this dispute with a battle. If you and Raichu win, you're free to let the authorities handle my grunts, but if Yveltal and I win, you have to join Team Flare _by my side_ as top admin and help me liberate the grunts instead. I can't see how you'd refuse, after all a champion level trainer with an infinitely powerful Raichu ought to be a formidable foe," Amber said, sending a wink his way as she said the words 'by my side.' Ash caught the double meaning behind her offer right away, and instantly blushed as he realized he didn't have much choice but to accept her challenge.

"Ash don't do this, you don't have to accept her offer. She's baiting you," Brock informed him despairingly, and Ash nodded as he recovered from the blush that was heating up his face. "I know that, but she's offering to withdraw if I win, and I have to take that chance if it means she won't interfere. I don't know Brock, she seems honorable enough to stand by her promise, and if I lose, at least I get to join forces with a truly angelic looking beauty, but I have no intention of losing this match," Ash replied, half jokingly but half serious to, and Brock sighed in resignation, praying to Arceus that the Pallet town trainer knew what he was doing.

Meanwhile, Amber blushed when she heard Ash call her an angelic beauty, unable to recall the last time a guy showed her such respect and showered her with such flattering compliments, but she had to stay focused. He was definitely charming, handsome, and if she was being totally honest with herself, downright sexually attractive, but she had a job to do, and she couldn't go back to Lysandre empty handed. She had never failed on a mission before, and she didn't intend to start now.

Mewtwo's voice suddenly echoed in Ash's head, and Ash recognized it as the Mewtwo he caught in Johto, having long since learned to tell them apart. '_I'm sorry Ash, I fell asleep while meditating in my master ball, but that girl Amber intrigues me now that I'm awake. She has the same name as my best friend Ambertwo, and she seems honorable enough, but be careful. She's the most powerful opponent I've ever seen you face, and I'll stand by in case you need me_,' it promised, and Ash sent it a mental grin and a nod, assuring it he wouldn't lose, no matter how powerful the opponent may be.

Deciding to keep the virtually omnipotent psychic type Pokemon on standby in case Amber tried any underhanded tactics, Ash stared into the eyes of his opponent, surprised by the depth of emotion in them as they bored into his own. "Amber, you do realize Lysandre's previous attempts to change the world for the better were pretty much pointless, right? If it was any other world, I'd agree that his methods were necessary, but actually take a minute to look around you. The world of Pokemon is a very near Utopian society, sure every once in a while some people come along who fuck shit up, but in the end, good always triumphs over evil in this plane of reality, and that's the way it has always been and will always be here. Lysandre's old arguments that the world is filling up with humans too fast and and that the world can't sustain them is a very misanthropic view on life, and entirely unnecessary in the world of Pokemon. Think about it Amber, there are legendary Pokemon such as Mew and Victini that can solve most of our problems, energy crisis, conjuring natural resources and what not, but Lysandre would have you believe that the world is reaching the pinnacle of it's decadence? It just doesn't make sense to me, and to those many trainers who are unworthy of having legendary Pokemon, there are alternatives, powerful enough psychic type Pokemon can convert their thoughts into reality and conjure things from thin air, in essence the Pokemon world has he capacity to create infinite supplies of anything and everything, rendering Lysandre's old argument invalid, irrational, and illogical," Ash lectured in a very philosophical anecdote, and everyone who could hear him hung on his every word, namely Sycamore, Brock, Clement, Bonnie, and Amber, who was genuinely intrigued by Ash's intelligence and was unable to think of a very convincing argument, if there was one.

"You may have a point, Lysandre used to think like that, but he's a changed man now. While your argument against the usefulness of misanthropy is valid in this world, the fact remains that even in the world of Pokemon, there is room for improvement, and that's what Team Flare's objective is these days. People everywhere should be taking more and bigger steps towards securing the future of the planet and everyone on it, that is why Team Flare was reformed, to create a sort of example for the rest of mankind to gravitate towards," Amber replied, and Ash shook his head, realizing that while Lysandre may have told Amber all _that_, it didn't mean he was a changed man as she so naively believed.

"I'm sure that is what he has told you, but in my experience, I've learned that men like him always have a hidden agenda they don't tell anyone about. You're being deceived Amber, whether or not you want to admit it is irrelevant. Tell me something, how much has Lysandre filled you in on regarding the entity he now answers to, and how did you come to possess the Pokemon you do now?" Ash questioned her knowingly, having read her mind and viewed her memories while she had been presenting her counter argument, and he watched inanimately as her eyes widened with shock.

"How did you..." she started, but Ash overshot her, "doesn't matter how I know what I know, as to the identity of that entity, I actually know quite a bit more than you do, but enough chit chat. We have a battle to fight, and once I win, I expect you to fulfill your end of the bargain," he shouted over top all of the ambient noises. Amber merely stared at him in shock, unable to comprehend how he knew what he did, but if he knew as much as he claimed, he could present a major threat to their operations in the future. Lysandre had to be notified, she didn't have time to battle what may have been the single most powerful opponent she had ever faced. A battle like that could take hours, days, and even years to finish, if the Pokemon participating were powerful enough and didn't critically damage one another quickly enough. She had no choice, she had to forfeit the match, and since she was a person of her word, she knew she'd also have to let her best grunts be carted away. Lysandre wasn't going to be happy about this, and she'd receive most of the heat since this was her mission.

"Yveltal, time to leave," Amber commanded, and the legendary Pokemon of destruction nodded before vanishing in a whirl of pure speed, and both it and Amber were gone from the scene, much to the shock of everyone present, including Ash. Even more shocking though, was what he saw while scanning Amber's memories. He hadn't intended to invade her privacy, but now he knew that Lysandre and all of Team Flare answered to the Anti-God Pokemon itself, Arceus's archenemy and the deepest essence of infinite darkness, destruction, chaos, nothingness, evil, and oblivion.

He looked up as he saw Yveltal floating about 50 feet above them, and Amber standing on it's back as she addressed Ash and the others. "Sorry Ash, duty calls, I have to forfeit this match due to extenuating circumstances, but I promise we'll duel again, and the results will be much different. Don't worry, I'll keep my word for the time being, the grunts are yours and Jenny's, be seeing you cutie," Amber called down to him, and with that she blew him a sweet kiss before she and Yveltal vanished into the aether.

Ash colored in spite of himself and despite everything that had happened, but immediately recovered when Brock and the others walked over to him and Raichu, only to be trampled by the camera man and the media crew on the way there. They all entered Ash's personal bubble as they practically salivated at the mouth for a chance to interview their champion, the one who saved all of Lumiose city in the course of an hour and a half. The afternoon wasn't even half over, and he already had his most exciting and horrific arrival to a new region ever. He knew his journey through Kalos would turn out to be his biggest adventure yet, and once again his instincts were right. Ash prepared for the inevitable as he realized Jenny and Sycamore could only hold these guys off for so long, wondering what Serena and the other viewers would think of everything they had just witnessed and hoping his best childhood friend wasn't too mad at him for his reckless leap off of Prism tower, assuming she even properly remembered him, which he wasn't even sure of.

He stared up at the sky subconsciously as he thought all this, the image of Amber and her Yveltal coming to mind as he couldn't help but smile, despite the awful things that transpired this day, namely the deaths of all those people. '_I hope I see her again, she was the strongest opponent I've ever faced, even if our battle didn't last as long as I would have liked. Oh well, she promised me a rematch, so all I have to do is wait it out I guess,_' Ash rambled mentally, and he blushed again as he remembered the kiss she blew at him, but quickly squashed the warmth spreading through his chest as the image of Serena flashed through his mind.

Ash was not a stupid man by any means, he knew he was beginning to harbor a romantic attraction to the auburn haired trainer, even if she was in league with the enemy right now. It was clear to him now that she was not a bad person, she was just a girl with a dream who wanted to believe the person she looked up to most of all was as honorable a man as she believed him to be. In the end though, people didn't always turn out to be everything you thought they were, and Ash wanted to help her see Lysandre as the evil man he knew he was deep down inside. He wouldn't let such a wonderful, sweet young woman be coerced and tricked into serving the evil ambitions of a misanthropic psychopath, and most definitely not the omnimalevolence of the Anti-God Pokemon. He hoped she would at least consider the things he said to her, but also worried how the Anti-God Pokemon would react if it found out her loyalty was wavering and her faith in Lysandre was shaken. All and all, there wasn't much he could do about it this early on, but he could tell the knowledge he revealed to her had shaken the girl, and hopefully she would proceed with extreme caution from here on out. On top of all that, he couldn't help wondering what Serena would think of everything, and for that matter, would she even recognize him when she saw him on the TV? His instincts told him to wait and see, but his heart was torn between two, and as he addressed the crowd and the media, he realized his love life had just gotten a lot more complicated...

XXXXXXXXXXX

Panic, terror, anger, uncomprehending disbelief, and relief above all flooded Serena's veins with the vigor of a Kyogre's surf attack. Such was her emotional baggage that she didn't even register the fact that she was hungry or that the incident with Garchomp was really, truly over now. She couldn't believe that people had died, that alone was bad enough, but to actually see the return of Team Flare itself with her own eyes was almost too much for the honey blonde girl to handle.

'_I can't believe all this happened in the course of an hour_,' Serena whispered inwardly, thinking aloud and feeling helpless as she was forced to watch all of this take place from a third person point of view. She just didn't believe half the things she was forced to watch, wanting so badly to just look away, to change the channel, but unable to pry her eyes from the horrific scenery.

She had seen buildings leveled, watched as people were buried under mountains of rubble, and helplessly observed from the sidelines while Team Flare had attacked Centrico Plaza with a powerfl Tyranitar, forcing Ash to intervene. Serena's mind instantly caved in around the thoughts of Ash, so glad he wasn't hurt despite all the shit he had gone through during his arrival in Kalos.

'_This just isn't fair, the Kalos region is truly a wonder of the world, Ash's arrival here shouldn't have started off like this, with people dying, Pokemon rampaging, and Team Flare resuming their reign of terror. I can't imagine how he must be feeling right about now, he must feel so sad and discouraged. Maybe he even regrets coming here_,' Serena mused despairingly, unable to smile despite the fact that Ash, her Ash was closer to her than he had been in years, so close she could practically touch him.

Of all the horrors she'd seen this last afternoon, none shocked or scared Serena as much as when she saw a figure descending to the pavement from up on Lumiose tower and realized that her Ash had just taken a plunge into oblivion. Her heart had very nearly stopped in those moments as she watched him slowly approach the pavement, wanting nothing more than to be there by his side, the both of them dying together, so she wouldn't have to go on alone in this world without the comfort of her closest friend ever. She couldn't believe it, Ash had finally made it to Kalos, only to die here and now before she even got a chance to touch base, was this fate's plan for her hero? He seemed to take forever to fall, but it didn't matter, nothing mattered to Serena anymore, she was numb with shock until that blue light engulfed him, and he halted in midair right above the cameras and the uninviting pavement below.

She couldn't believe her eyes as Ash slowly and harmlessly touched the ground, the blue light fading as he and his Raichu landed perfectly safe and sound, not a scratch on them as Garchomp landed somewhere behind them, back to it's old self. As soon as she realized that her Ash wasn't going to die, Serena began to remember how to feel again, and what he said to the camera crew shocked her to her core.

'_IT WAS THE QUICKEST WAY DOWN?! IS HE OUT OF HIS FUCKING MIND, UGH, JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS ON HIM! HE MAY HAVE GOTTEN OFF EASY WITH THE MEDIA, BUT I'M NOT CUTTING HIM ANY SLACK, NOT WHEN HE MADE ME WORRY, NOT WHEN I THOUGHT THAT GARCHOMP MAY HAVE TOSSED HIM OFF THE TOWER WITH AN EARTHQUAKE_,' Serena had screamed in her mind, anger quickly replacing her shock, worry, and grief as she realized Ash was never really in any danger. That boy had some serious explaining to do when she met him again, but for now she would just relish the fact that he was still alive.

The fact that it could have been Garchomp that ended up killing him made Serena feel almost resentful of the rampaging Pseudo-legendary, but then she felt guilty afterward for harboring such contempt for a Pokemon that had no control over itself. Until today, she never thought it would be possible to feel hatred towards a Pokemon, but had Ash died this day, as so many others did, Serena knew she would never forgive or forget, and that the very continued existence of Pokemon would leave a bitter taste in her mouth.

Her anger quickly returned when Team Flare hit the scene, along with her shock renewed, unable to believe that the evil organization was not only still thriving, but also responsible for everything that transpired. Watching Ash wipe the floor with that grunt gave Serena no small amount of satisfaction and savage pleasure, and she honestly wouldn't have begrudged her friend had he taken it further and murdered those bastards for all they had done, but then again, he wouldn't be Ash Ketchum if he were a killer.

Seeing the power Ash's Pokemon possessed made Serena remember the conversation she and Shauna shared earlier that day, and she was pleased to find that Ash had accomplished exactly what he set out to do. Thinking of the boy whom had become the most important person in her life as a strong, young man with absurdly powerful Pokemon caused Serena's heart to flutter uncontrollably and made her feel very warm and fuzzy inside, though she couldn't understand why.

She wondered what Calem and Shauna would think of Ash now that they were doubtlessly watching him on the TV as well, but so far, she was convinced that Ash was making a very good first impression. He was a champion level trainer now, and a damn powerful one at that. Serena wasn't sure her heart would ever stop pounding, but despite the fact that a rather large part of her was pissed at him for scaring her so badly, she couldn't help feeling super proud of the fact that he was achieving his lifelong ambition, just as he always promised her he would.

She watched with a tearful smile and a million different emotions surging through her as the Lumiose city police officers carted the three Team Flare grunts away to stand trial and hopefully face justice for their heinous crimes. She realized that Calem was right, things had a way of working themselves out, and she dared to hope that maybe this whole situation was behind them now. It would take some time, but Lumiose city would eventually recover, and the repairs had already been completed somehow. She didn't exactly see what had went on, but around the time Ash jumped from Lumiose tower, the city had somehow repaired itself. She had been so fixated on Ash she hadn't noticed it at first, but now she did.

Her heart wrenched as she watched Sycamore take the blame for all of Garchomp's actions, fresh tears stinging her eyes as he insisted on covering the funeral expenses and compensating all the families that lost their spouses and children. Serena hated very few people in her life, but those Team Flare grunts were three of those people now. Despite her anger towards them, she knew it was better to let the authorities handle this, and Ash seemed to know that too, even as the grunt regained consciousness and vowed to get even with Ash.

The worst seemed to be behind them, or so Serena thought, but as soon as that shiny Yveltal hit the scene and that woman jumped off it's back, Serena literally screamed out loud. The woman quickly took an interest in Ash when he refused to back down, and Serena had to resist cussing with some of the most colorful words in her vocabulary as she watched Ash stare this girl down, a girl who looked like a bloody super model who won the worldly beauty pageant.

She had never felt such jealousy before in her life, how dare that girl gaze at Ash in such a sexual manner? She flirted with him using only her eyes, and considering that they were on opposing sides, this was wildly inappropriate. She drew comfort from knowing Ash long enough to know that he was immune to most feminine charms, well except her own. As to why she was jealous, it was obvious wasn't it? Ash was the one who got away, and despite the fact that Serena had tried her very hardest to move on, she realized that her childhood crush was back in all of it's embarrassing glory. That did not however, mean she was in love with him, merely that she was infatuated and smitten. Considering that this other girl, now revealed to be Amber, was beautiful enough to make Serena feel self conscious didn't help matters.

Not that Serena herself wasn't bad looking, completely the opposite. Puberty had been unbelievably kind to her, and if not for the fact that her chest was not as well developed as she would have liked, she had all the same perks as this Amber chick, including the perfect hourglass figure, flawless skin tone, and well maintained hair. She had smaller breasts than she would have liked, but they were big enough she supposed, and perky, just hanging there as though defying gravity. She quickly blushed at her thoughts, hoping beyond hope that Ash didn't buy what Amber was selling. Sure he had complimented her once or twice already, but Ash had always known at a young age how to treat a lady, even if that lady happened to be his best friend, his enemy, or any other girl he happened across. Ash was actually one of the most popular guys in Pallet town, and a lot of the other girls Serena had befriended there had obvious crushes on him as well, presenting her with some competition.

As she got a proper look at Amber, Serena felt a slight hint of recognition but couldn't place it no matter how hard she tried. Did she knew Amber from somewhere before, and if so, when and where did she meet her? She shook her head to clear her thoughts, and watched in wonder as Amber's Yveltal somehow held it's own against Ash's insanely powerful Raichu.

On top of Amber's beauty, how in the _hell_ did she obtain an Yveltal in the first place?! It was a legendary Pokemon, and a bloody strong one at that! According to Serena's years of studies, Yveltal was a Pokemon that wielded limitless powers of destruction, and had the power to destroy all life in the universe if it felt so inclined. Such were it's powers of destruction that it could even kill immortals, but until today Serena had chalked up legendary Pokemon as just that, legends.

Her eyes were now glued to the TV, unable to fully comprehend what happened next as Ash ordered his Raichu to use a lethal combination attack that could threaten the entire planet. ' _Raichu, into the air with magnet rise, then roll at near-limitless speeds through the air towards Yveltal while performing a full powered, infinite mass BOLT STRIKE_' she heard Ash command loudly, and she nearly fell on the floor out of pure, unbridled astonishment as she processed that absurd battle strategy.

Her eyes widened with horror when she saw Raichu carry out it's trainer's will without even hesitating, and he saw Amber's eyes widen at around the same time, the both of them obviously thinking the same thing as the entire crowd, policemen, Pokemon, and all fell silent, bracing themselves for the impending doomsday as Raichu and Yveltal moved at near-limitless speeds, clashing savagely at a speed too great for them to localize.

They had rematerialized an instant later, looking as though they struck each other an infinite number of times immediately, but somehow both of them were still standing, and the earth was still in one piece. To say Serena was confused would have been an understatement?! On the off chance that Raichu's planet busting collision was in fact exactly what Ash commanded it to be, that still didn't explain how no damage befell the city or the rest of the world. A blast like that would have torn a massive hole in the fabric of reality, swallowing earth and all of the universe in a super massive black hole, at least as far as she was aware. So how was earth still in one piece, she wondered if Ash knew the answer to that question, since he was the one who commanded the attack.

Deciding to ask him about it when she saw him, Serena's heart wrenched yet again when Ash called Amber a worthy opponent, and she smiled sheepishly at him, as though the two of them were already best buds or something like that. It made Serena's insides boil to see Ash just as taken by this girl's appearance as she feared he would be. Her jealousy returning with a vengeance, Serena couldn't stop the cussing from escaping her mouth this time, though luckily her mother was too absorbed in the news channel to notice, not that she could really wash her daughter's mouth out with soup anymore.

Finally, after hearing Ash and Amber exchange a few fancy words about Team Flare's motives, and hearing some of Ash's weird comments about some entity Lysandre was serving, Serena watched as Amber's eyes widened at that point. Clearly Ash was aware of something that could threaten Team Flare, because Amber seemed beside herself with fear.

Serena smirked when the girl said it was time to leave to her Yveltal, and the Pokemon quickly complied, both it and it's trainer vanishing for a few seconds before reappearing about fifty feet above Ash and his group of friends. Serena noticed Ash's entourage as the first time, and she was shocked when she saw Clement and Bonnie among them, though immeasurable anger and jealousy quickly replaced her astonishment when Amber called Ash a cutie and departed, but not before blowing him a flirtatious kiss.

Serena's teeth clenched and she bit her tongue to keep from screaming out loud, wanting so badly to march over to Lumiose city and show that Amber who was boss. Jealousy was an unfamiliar emotion to Serena, but it was beginning to consume her as she saw Ash blushing, unable to believe what she was seeing. Ash never blushed, and for that matter, he almost never showed his emotional side, except when she was around. Girls from all over Pallet would try and get some alone time with him, try to get him to smile or blush, but Serena had been the only one who had been able to get him to open up. He never blushed, not even when Daisy Oak kissed him on the cheek for helping her brother Gary out of a jam. Only Serena's parting words and the kiss she bestowed upon him had caused him any sort of embarrassment, and she took pride from that for years. Now though, it seemed that this Amber chick really knew how to rev a guy's engine, and she hated the fact that she wasn't there by Ash's side.

She tried to curb her jealousy as Ash addressed the cheering crowd and turned to his friends once more, his trusty Raichu on his shoulder as her childhood crush was assaulted by the media. "Ash Ketchum, would you care for a comment?" one of them said, while another begged him for an autograph for her daughter. "Can you explain how the earth is not in pieces?" another one demanded, and all hell broke loose as Ash smiled for the camera, seeming to stare right at Serena through the TV screen as he spoke out for the first time.

"I did what anyone half decent and in my position would have done. Team Flare is a menace to society and must be stopped. I will be tending to the matter personally, but although one's actions can change the world, one cannot change the world alone. The world needs not just one of us, but all of us to step up when faced with adversity. People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy, and though I'm more than willing to be a symbol of hope in these dark and dangerous times, each and every one of you will have to choose what is right over what is easy. Is it easier to run and hide when faced with these cretins, yes it is, but the right thing to do is to take a stand against tyrants, against corruption and violence. This world would not be the utopian society it is nowadays if it contained spineless individuals who stood by and let these atrocities come to pass. It's one thing to be evil, but the way I see it, it's even worse to allow evil to persevere. The world needs the hero in each and every one of us, not just me, and that's all I have to say for now," Ash replied passionately, and Serena couldn't help but feel inspired by the delivery of his speech.

"You heard it from Ash Ketchum folks, a truly inspiring speech if I do say so myself. We'll back after these messages," the news lady stated, and the screen cut to commercial as Serena slumped backwards in her seat, feeling emotionally drained as she realized it was finally over, at least for now. With Garchomp safe and sound, the gates to Vaniville town would surely open back up, since it was only around 2 PM in the afternoon. Despite the fact that it was still early, Serena couldn't remember the last time she felt this exhausted, and announced she was heading up to her room for a quick nap, her mother waving her off as she trekked up the stairs and fell on her cool, soft mattress. She pulled her comforter over her as she stared up at the ceiling, her mind moving a million miles a minute as she came to the startling yet exciting realization that her journey could now begin without a hitch. Her eyelids quickly grew heavy, and as she fell asleep in the comfort of her own bed, one last thought ran through her mind. '_I can't wait to see him again, I hope he remembers me, but even if he doesn't at first I'll... make sure he does, and even if he's with some other girl, he'll always be my number one guy_...'

XXXXXXXXXXX

In the two hours following Ash's encounter with Amber and his inspiring speech to the media, the Pallet town trainer had gained two new companions to travel with, a little girl who could very well be the younger sister he never had, a friend and fellow genius in the form of Clement, and a visit to professor Sycamore's lab that he'd never forget, not in this lifetime or the next.

The visit to the professor's lab had been memorable for several various reasons, one of them being the new Pokeball now strapped to his belt, which contained a rather stubborn Froakie that had apparently been following him for some time and watched his battles with Team Flare. When he got to the lab, the little Kalos water type had been waiting for him, and Sycamore explained that this Froakie was a unique specimen that always gave it's trainers trouble. Apparently it had been brought back by it's trainers several times, all of whom complained that Froakie didn't listen to a word they said and would always battle without it's trainer's instruction.

Sycamore explained that this Froakie was stubborn and willful, and for that reason it would require a strong trainer who knew what they were doing and knew how to handle the unusually iron willed starter Pokemon. Apparently, after watching the way Ash battled alongside Raichu, Froakie had become adamant about being his Pokemon, and Ash was overjoyed and only too eager to add the frog Pokemon to his team.

With Sycamore's permission, Ash had used his new Kalos Pokedex's Transportation pad to teleport his giant Wigglytuff to Oak's lab, all so he could keep Froakie with him and begin the brutal training regimens Ash already had planned to make this the strongest Froakie and eventually Greninja in the entire world. He had already worked out Froakie's nutrition plans and had some ideas on how to begin it's training program. So all and all, he was a very happy camper, and now that he had his first Kalos region Pokemon, he was beginning to feel that familiar desire for more Pokemon, a desire Misty once said made him 'catch crazy' or something like that.

He quickly vowed to catch all of the Kalos Pokemon, and was incredibly happy with the newest addition to his collection. Sycamore had said he would give Ash something to help him with his journey to be the best, and help him he did. Imagine Ash's surprise when the young professor gave him not one, but two mega stones, one for Garchomp and one for Charizard. These gifts had Ash practically salivating at the thought of using them, and he couldn't wait to try out his new Garchompite, which he suspected would make his Garchomp as powerful as Cynthia's, with five all-powerful stats and a near-infinite speed, though he could only guess as to how powerful his strongest pseudo-legendary would become.

Then there was his Charizard, one of his first captured Pokemon ever and perhaps his strongest starter, aside from his Sceptile, his Infernape, Torterra, Empoleon, Blastoise, and Venesaur. In fact, all of Ash's starter Pokemon were insanely powerful, and some of the strongest individuals of their kind. Ash wasn't settling for anything less than the best, and he intended to help _all_ his Pokemon reach their true potential and attain truly limitless power.

Finally, the third and last reason his trip to Sycamore's lab was unforgettable was simple, the briefcase with three Pokeballs in his right hand, and the two unique individuals who were now accompanying him, Brock, Clement, and Bonnie to Vaniville town, to deliver a starter Pokemon to a new trainer, a girl who had delayed going on her journey until she was eighteen years old. Delivering Pokemon to any new trainer was something Ash considered as a huge honor, so he jumped at the chance to help out with this delivery.

The two lab assistants, Tierno and Trevor, were apparently friends with the girl from Vaniville town, and they seemed like pleasant people, even if Tierno was a little weird and liked to dance around a lot. He still felt bad about the incident with Garchomp, Team Flare, and with Amber, but was glad he had been able to foil Team Flare's plan, even if it put him on Lysandre's radar in a bad way.

Alexa had stayed behind to interview the citizens of Lumiose city about the circumstances surrounding Team Flare and the incident with Sycamore's Garchomp, but she had stuck around long enough to call her sister Viola as a favor to Ash, only to discover the Santalune gym leader was taking a short vacation. After assuring Alexa it was alright and that he would battle Viola later, the news reporter left them for the time being, and Ash and co made their way to the edge of the city.

It was only about an hour's walk to Vaniville town if you were in really good shape and hurried fast enough, but Ash was taking his time to think, beside Clement was very out of shape and was huffing and puffing constantly. He kept thinking about the new trainer that was receiving one of the Pokeballs now in his hand, and how she was a girl who happened to be turning eighteen tomorrow.

He wasn't stupid by any means, he knew who this mystery girl was. He remembered Serena's birthday very well, having bought her some rather lovely presents every year and counting down the days leading to it in his head each time it came around. The odds of a girl who happened to have the same birthday and was the same age as his best childhood friend being anyone but Serena was pretty astronomical. Plus, Sycamore had already confirmed that it was indeed her, so Ash was psyched, more psyched than he had been over just about anything in his entire life.

Yet at the same time, he was so incredibly nervous he almost felt sick. So many questions ran through his head he couldn't think straight. Did she remember him at all, did she cherish their friendship as much as he did? Did absence really make the heart grow fonder, or was such a long separation enough to have her grow away from him? If she did remember him, would she want to accompany him on his journey, and above all, did she reciprocate the strong feelings he had developed for her as he matured and the memory of her departure grew ever more painful?

Growing up and journeying as much as he did, Ash had changed a lot, but the one constant in his life, the one thing that never changed, was his adoration to the honey blonde cutie who had stolen his heart when he was only six or seven years old. Ash had been in love with Serena before he even knew what love was, and as he got older, those feelings festered beneath the surface, growing stronger and more mature as he continued to pine after her.

No woman on earth had been able to sway his heart the way Serena did, regardless of whether they offered him lust, money, fame, fortune, or even true, genuine love. The truth was, he never stopped loving her, and waiting all this time, wanting so badly to see her again, his emotions for her seemed to develop and evolve without limit. The fact that he had developed a crush on Amber didn't change this, and at the end of the day, his crush on the pretty admin of Team Flare was just that, a simple crush. What he felt for Serena was so much deeper than that, a powerful, spiritual connection that often bordered on addiction.

The thought of seeing her again was driving him spare, but somehow he couldn't stop putting one foot in front of the other, the hour long trek from Lumiose to Vaniville town seeming to take forever and a day. He wondered how much she had changed, not only physically but mentally and emotionally. Had she matured, had she outgrown him? Was she with someone else before he could even admit his feelings for her?

"Ash calm down, your aura is flaring up," Brock whispered to him as he walked beside him, and Ash took a few deep breaths to calm his banging heart. He noticed for the first time that his body was indeed glowing a faint blue, but luckily for him nobody else seemed to notice. "Brock I'm terrified, what if... what if she... I mean I..." Ash stammered, and Brock nodded in understanding, seeming to comprehend the gist of what Ash was trying to say.

"I know how you feel man, I mean, Serena was and still is the love of your life. The thought of seeing her again and wondering if she still remembers you must be hard to deal with, but Ash, try not to to despair... She will remember you, if not right away then eventually. Memories are not easily forgotten, all it takes is a gentle nudge or friendly reminder, and she will remember you in no time, I promise," Brock reassured him, and Ash tried to take a few more deep breaths as Raichu nuzzled his cheek in affection.

"Come on Clement, hurry up," they heard Bonnie shout, and they both spun around to see the two siblings bringing up the rear of their little venture through Santalune forest, which they had reached a while back. Ash could hear the sounds of different Pokemon coming from all sides, some familiar and some not as they made their way through the winding paths of the thick, tropical rainforest.

"Kalos really is beautiful, isn't it Brock?" Ash commented nonchalantly as he took in a breath of fresh air, the forest environment doing wonders to calm his racing heart and curb his surmounting panic attack. As he said this, one of their two extra companions, the tall round boy known as Tierno, practically waltzed up beside them in a sort of frenzied, ecstatic dance.

"Yes indeed, the Kalos region is something else alright," Tierno interjected, and Trevor rolled his eyes behind them as Tierno practiced various dancing moves while keeping pace with Ash and Brock. "Hey Ash, I have a question. Why couldn't you just have your Alakazam teleport us to Vaniville town?" Clement wheezed as he and Bonnie hurried to catch up with them.

"Because then you wouldn't get the exercise you so obviously need," Ash smirked, and Bonnie giggled as she gloated at her brother. "See, even Ash thinks you need to get into shape," she chided, and Clement sighed in resignation. "Ash is more fit than any of us Bonnie, he probably thinks everyone else in the whole world needs to get in shape," Clement retorted, and Bonnie stuck out her tongue at him and ran on ahead, breezing past Ash, Brock, and Tierno, who were in the lead.

"Hey Bonnie, make sure you don't get too far ahead, it's easy to get lost in this forest," Ash called after her, concern filling him as Raichu sighed and jumped off it's trainer's shoulders to scurry after the energetic eight year old. "Oh don't worry Ash, I'll be fine," Bonnie reassured him, but she welcomed Raichu's company when the electric mouse let her chase it around the forest, the both of them laughing joyously as Ash watched the scene with a smile on his face.

"Hey Brock, I think we're almost through the forest," Ash observed, noticing that the trees weren't as close together and the afternoon sun was much more prominent now as the forest continued to grow more sparse. Brock nodded in agreement, checking the time as it read 5:30 PM, leaving plenty of time to get to Vaniville town before the gates were scheduled to close.

His previous worries about his reunion with Serena forgotten, Ash began to pick up the pace as excitement surged through his entire body. Brock was right, Serena would remember him, she just had to. There was no way a friendship as close as theirs could be forgotten about so easily, and though he was still worried about whether or not she returned his feelings, his eagerness to see her again outweighed his anxiety.

Quickly changing pace from a fast jog to an all out sprint, Ash easily caught up with and blew past Bonnie at forty five miles an hour, leaving everyone else in the dust as thoughts of his best friend and all their most treasured moments together flashed in his mind's eye. He was closer to her than he had been in years, so close he could practically taste it! So he ran for all he was worth, the briefcase in hand as everyone else, even Bonnie, struggled to keep up. So what if there were obstacles in their way, Ash remembered one of the last things he said to Serena before she left. True friendship never dies, those parting words had left a permanent impression on Ash's heart and soul, and he knew that even after ten long years of agonizing separation, they'd still be best friends forever...

XXXXXXXXXXX

Serena was roused from a rather pleasant dream by a loud and irritating voice shouting at her to get up. "Serena, HEY, SERENA! Wake up, our Pokemon are here and Trevor and Tierno are waiting for us in the next town!" the voice shouted, and Serena groggily opened her eyes, only to see a pair of green ones staring back at her, along with the pretty face of her all too familiar friend.

"Shauna? What time is it?" Serena yawned, still not fully awake as Shauna huffed at her friend's lack of alertness. "It's 5:45 PM, you've been asleep for almost four hours, NOW COME ON! Trevor and Tierno just got back, and they have a Pokemon ready for each of us, you, me, and Calem are all going on a journey right now," Shauna responded, and suddenly Serena was wide awake as she finally processed the enormity of what her best female friend was saying.

"Holy shit, I overslept!" Serena practically screamed, tossing the comforter off of her and jumping off her bed as though she had never been sleepy in the first place. Shauna quickly withdrew from her room as Serena hastily tried to get ready, cursing under her breath as she realized she hadn't even gotten around to packing her things. "Gah! I'm so behind schedule, what am I going to do?! I'll never be ready in time, the gates will close before I'm ready, and I'll have to wait a whole day before I can begin my journey," Serena shouted frantically as she hurriedly brushed her hair, straightened out her clothes, reapplied her makeup, and tried to keep her stress at bay as she looked at her choice of clothing, realizing they'd have to do.

A sudden knock to her bedroom door brought her out of her musing, and after casting her reflection a satisfied look, she told whoever it was that they could come in. "Hey Serena, you ready to go yet?" her mother Grace asked cautiously as Fletchling flew in and made itself at home on top of Serena's head. Serena sighed in frustration, "no mom, I overslept while napping and completely forgot to pack my stuff," she admitted ruefully.

Grace sighed at her daughter's absentmindedness, realizing the news program from earlier probably had a lot to do with it, considering her childhood friend and crush was featured on the television. "Serena relax, I already purchased the necessities and packed your trainer bag, it's right here," Grace sighed after allowing the silence to drag out for what seemed like forever.

Serena stared at her mom in shock as she handed her a cute pink handbag, and looking inside Serena saw everything she would need to start her journey. There was her Pokedollar bank card, which could be used at any store at any time, including malls, Pokemarts, etc. There was also a fancy town map that showed all the hotspots in all the locations throughout Kalos, and was basically the ultimate traveling guide. There was also the latest model of the Holo caster, which included a video phone feature that could contact anyone from around the world without having to use a phone number. One simply spoke the full name of the person they wished to contact, and the Holo caster's satellite and massive database containing nearly every individual on the planet would look for that person automatically. It could also connect to other, older versions of video phones and could hook up with any internet router no matter the distance. On top of that, it had the highly useful super training and Pokemon Amie features, which were basically virtual realities that allowed people to train their Pokemon against a variety of mirage Pokemon and gain phenomenal experience and boost any of their stats without limit. Pokemon Amie allowed the trainer to play all kinds of video games with their Pokemon, and could be used to forge a closer bond with them as well. On top of that, Serena's bag contained a tent, emergency provisions such as water and food, and a few extra set of clothes. Plus there was room for all her potions, Pokeballs, her Pokedex, and all her Pokemon food.

"Wow, thanks so much mom, you've totally saved the day!" Serena exclaimed graciously, and her mother smiled and nodded, realizing this may be the last time she saw her only daughter for quite some time. "Serena, promise me you'll drop me a line from time to time, and remember what we talked about this morning. You will always be welcome back here, and I'd like for us to have a proper mother-daughter relationship from here on out, if you'll let me," Grace offered, and Serena smiled and nodded, rising to her feet and throwing her arms around her mother.

Once they pulled away, Grace gazed at her child, who was now a grown woman and several inches taller than she was. "Just look at you Serena, you've grown up, and if your father could see you right now..." Grace whispered, pausing a moment to swipe a stray tear that leaked from her eye. Serena was tearing up as well, "maybe I'll find him sometime during my journey, but until then, I intend to follow in his footsteps. Becoming a champion level trainer will open up a lot of doors for me, and I intend to take the world of Pokemon by storm!" Serena declared, and her mother nodded.

"Of that, I have little doubt you will, your father was a truly gifted trainer and was good friends with Red, who happens to be Ash's father. It's ironic, their friendship with one another was reborn in you and Ash, I guess what I am trying to say is, some friendships transcend lifetimes and overcome every obstacle. Now go Serena, find him, and make damn sure you never lose him again. I may not be able to give you back the eight years I took from you, but with Ash's help, I'm sure you will become every bit as powerful as your father was, if not even more so," Grace responded with fierce passion, and Serena couldn't help but smile and cry at the same time.

"Ash is so many leagues ahead of me mom, I could have been as strong as he is now had I started my journey at the designated age, but I won't waste time dwelling on what could have been. I'm a trainer _now_, and I'm going to make the most of it," Serena whispered, and with that she quickly left her room and flew down the stairs before she could even blink, her new handbag strapped over her shoulder as she exited the place she had called home for the last eight years, wondering when she would see it again.

"There you are Serena, are you ready to start our grand adventure," Shauna called out once Serena caught up to her on route one, the both of them and Calem making their way to Aquacorde town with all due haste. "You bet, so what are you guys going to do on your journeys?" Serena wondered, and Shauna shrugged. "I'm not really sure yet, but I'd like to travel around and make lots of friends, and I have a journal with me to record all the memories I'll make, the bonds I'll forge. I guess I just want to create memories that can last a lifetime, but I'm not really sure what I want to do beyond that," Shauna answered, and as Serena pondered this Calem spoke up next. 

"I plan on taking the gym challenge and beating the Kalos league. I've got some pretty amazing trainers for parents and I've got generations of champion and elite level trainers to make proud, what about you Serena?!" Calem said, fixing Serena with a very hard, intense look as Serena gazed unflinchingly right back at him, realizing she and Calem had much the same goal, and because of that, they were rivals from here on out.

"Much the same as you Calem. I plan on becoming a champion level trainer and taking the entire world by storm. I'll become one of the best there is or ever will be, just you wait and see," she proclaimed determinedly, and she grinned at her ex, the both of them thinking much the same thing. "I guess that makes us rivals then..." Calem commented, and Serena laughed. "Guess so," she responded simply, and with that, the three of them reached Aquacorde town at last.

"Hey Serena, Calem, Shauna, over here," a tall, round boy Serena instantly recognized called out from one of the outside dining tables near Aquacorde's most popular restaurant. "Tierno, hey, how are you?" Shauna called back, and Serena couldn't help but smile as she and the other two joined Tierno and the shy, reserved Trevor at the clear glass table.

"Hey Trev, how ya been?" Calem wondered, and Trevor shrugged inanimately. "Same as usual I reckon, though I'm still a little shaken by what happened in Lumiose," Trevor said quietly, and Serena and Shauna nodded in accord as Tierno's voice carried out across the plaza. "Can you believe that Ash Ketchum? He handled Team Flare as elegantly as a Kirlia man, I've never seen such raw power," he roared with obvious enthusiasm, and Shauna cooed in delight.

"Yeah I know, his battle with that Yveltal had me on the edge of my seat, and his Raichu is bloody strong," Shauna shouted, just as loudly as Tierno. "I must admit, when he told Raichu to use an infinite mass bolt strike, I thought he had lost his fucking mind, but clearly he had everything under control," Calem admitted, and all eyes turned to Serena, all of them knowing of her extensive history with the boy.

"Well, if you want the truth from me guys, I can't wait to see him again, but so HELP ME, if he ever does anything like that crazy leap off of Prism tower again, I'll fucking kill him!" Serena growled, and everyone chortled at her display, recognizing the hidden humor behind her stern glare. As she ranted about Ash's stupidity, Serena couldn't help but notice that Trevor and Tierno's eyes seemed to shift and lose focus a lot of the time, almost like they were distracted or had something to hide.

"Honestly Serena, how would you feel if he could hear the insulting things you were saying about him right now?" Tierno inquired mysteriously, and Serena burst out laughing. "Oh come on Tierno, I'm not really serious, I was just really worried about him at the time but it is funnier in hindsight. Besides, it's not like he can actually hear me, unless he's hiding under one of these tables or something," she chuckled, but she stopped cold when she heard someone else laughing with her, in a tone too deep to be Calem's or anybody else present.

"That's funny, I was actually hiding around the other side of the restaurant, waiting to surprise you," a voice echoed, one she hadn't heard in years but could recognize in a heartbeat. She spun around immediately and was met with the sight of Clement and Bonnie smiling at her, along with a dark skinned, spiky haired young man a couple of years older than her. What really caught her eye though, was the young man between them. Seeing him on the TV screen hadn't done him justice, and he was even taller than she thought, around 6 foot 5 or so, putting her pitiful 5 foot 5 to shame as she merely gawked at him with slacken jaws. His ebony hair was as disheveled as she remembered, though it was concealed by a baseball cap, and his amber eyes were as lustrous, intelligent, and caring as they were when she caught sight of them for the first time so many years ago. That Raichu from before was sitting on his shoulder, looking perfectly content up there, but Serena was much more interested in the trainer than his Pokemon. He looked absolutely stunning, taller, tanner, leaner, and more muscular than when they were children, but his smile was just as goofy and just as endearing as she remembered in her many dreams.

Speaking of dreams, this absolutely had to be one, yet no matter how many times Serena told herself this, he still continued to smile warmly and adoringly at her as saw him up close and personal for the first time in over 9 long, agonizing years. She had known Trevor and Tienor would be there, in their little gathering in Aquacorde town, as well as Calem and Shauna, but of all the people she thought she would meet, she never expected to be staring at the best friend she left behind so many years ago, the friend she always hoped would come to Kalos first during his journey, find her, and travel with her like they had planned.

Even though those hopes had quickly been squashed and Ash never came for her, she never stopped believing they would reunite, but even she never could have guessed that she would run into him here... or now at this very time and place. It felt so surreal that Serena wondered if she would wake up and it would all have been a dream, but if that was the case she never wanted to wake up again. Seeing that he still staring at her, awaiting her response, Serena struggled to gather her thoughts but only one coherent word managed to make it's way past the blockage of words and emotions clogging her mind and preventing her from speaking or even breathing for that matter. "Ash..."

_Author's Note: There you have it folks, another chapter of the Omega Omnisphere's Mightiest Pokemon Master. What do you guys think so far?! Personally, I outdid myself with this chapter, it is the biggest chapter I've ever written in any of my stories, so I'm proud of that. I mean, 35 thousand fucking words is insane, but enough about that. The introduction of Amber was admittedly something I never anticipated when first plotting this story, and she seems to be shaping up pretty well, especially for an OC character. I swear, I never intended for half the things that have happened with her to happen, she really got away from me, and her character is literally developing itself. Amber is a unique OC character in that she is based off one of the main characters in the story I'm working on that I intend to publish. Also, while I was tempted to make her an essentially omnipotent trainer in every aspect, I figured a Pokemon team of 12 all-powerful Pokemon would suffice for now, since she is going to need room to grow, much like Serena. Now, onto other matters, I know that some of you may be thinking that Ash is invincible, and you may be close to right, for the most part. This version of Ash is basically the mightiest of all Pokemon trainers, not only in the world but in every parallel universe, and every continuity in fictional history. That is the whole point, this story is about the challenges a virtually omnipotent character faces, namely the apparent pointlessness in going on, but rest assured, Ash is not invincible, at least not when up against someone on his own level, and we already know that Amber is as powerful a trainer as he is, even if she has way fewer Pokemon. Also, Lysandre, Red, Blue, and Serena's father are all at least as powerful as Ash, if not even more so, and the Anti-God Pokemon is an antagonist that can literally threaten the existence of the Omega Omnisphere. It is essentially the perfect villain to counter virtually invincible protagonists, and rest assured Ash will be getting his hands quite full in the chapters to come. Anyways, I'm super sleepy, and I'm sure I've rambled on long enough, so read, rate, and review. Thomas has left the building._


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